Psychiatrist Service Pending For Wanganui And Other Hospitals

Wanganui Chronicle, 21 July 1950, Page 4

Psychiatrist Service Pending For Wanganui And Other Hospitals

An assurance will be given the Department of Health that the services of a full-time psychiatrist would be nominated for Wanganui, Manawatu and Taranaki hospital districts, but the view was expressed at the monthly meeting of the Wanganui Hospital Board yesterday that till the service is inaugurated it will be difficult to determine the actual extent of the demands on it by neighbouring boards. The question was discussed when a letter from the department asked the Wanganui Hospital Board to approach other boards in the area to be served by the psychiatrist and obtain an indication of the extent to which his services would be used.

The department has already approved of a psychiatrist being appointed, but details of the appointment are being held up till this informaton is obtained.

The secretary, Mr. K. Harris, said j that consderable delay had occurred and there hart been a good deal of correspondence on the subject of this] appointment. The psychiatrist would serve the Palmerston North, Hawera. Stratford and Taranaki Hospital Boards. They had been written to for the required information, but some replies had yet to be received. Till clinics were established in centres outside of Wanganui it was unlikely that■ accurate information could be ob-; tained. Mr. L. W. Nation (Ohakune) suggested that the larger boards may re-i quire the psychiatrist for a week each j month. The secretary: It is hard to get an estimate in the meantime. Mrs A- K - Mac Lean suggested that when clinics were opened and the service became known the demand would increase. Mr. A. P. Howard (Marton): This

should be pushed on as soon as possible. If any replies are outstanding we should telephone the boards concerned and ask them to give the request immediate attention. The board decided to obtain the required nformaton as soon as possible.