NEW MAORI WARD.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 225, 21 September 1940, Page 11

NEW MAORI WARD.

TUBERCULOSIS CASES. PROPOSAL AT GISBORNE. GISBORNE, this day. The construction of a special ward at Te Puia Hospital to accommodate up to 25 patients is envisaged in a discussion proceeding between the Health Department and the Waiapu Hospital Board, involving the concentration of Maori tuberculosis cases at Te Puia for treatment, as a variation of the present system of domiciliary care.

At present cases suitable for domiciliary treatment are furnished with special huts, in order that a barrier between infected and uninfected members of households may be maintained. There is no intention of discontinuing this practice, but the Te Puia special ward will take care of native sufferers who in present circumstances have to go further afield for treatment, their cases being unsuitable for home care.

To give accommodation to a group of new cases, building plans have to be adopted, and there will arise the necessity of enlarging the kitchen, laundry, water supply and other facilities of the present hospital. The location is still to be settled, and a survey of the hospital reserve is to be made to determine the best position for the new ward. Possibly the design of the ward may be affected by the location.