T.B. SANATORIUM

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 41, 16 June 1947, Page 5

T.B. SANATORIUM

SITE NEAR HAMILTON . APPROVAL' BY BOARD The Bay of Plenty Hospital Board has agreed to become a contributory body to the cost of the sanatorium to be built on 50 acres of land at Hillcrest near Hamilton. At the board’s meeting on Thurs•day a motion to this effect, was approved, subject to the board’s approval of the final agreement as amended to meet the board’s objections to the original agreement. The Bay of Plenty Hospital Board’s district has been allocated eight beds in the sanatorium.

At the invitation of the Board Dr. Short, who is T.B. officer at the Waikato Hospital,, attended the board’s meeting and explained why the site at Hillcrest had been selected for the sanatorium to serve the South Auckland area. , The site committee had combed the area without finding a better site, declared Dr. Short. Regardihg the objection that there was too much fog at Hamilton, Dr. Short said that the fog.factor was a grossly exaggerated one./He had lived at Hillcrest for three years, and as the site was well back from the river there was very there. He had treated T.B. teases at the Waikato Hospital where there / was more fog, and this had not retarded recovery. There was a certain amount of fog at places where there were sanatoriums in Britain

and Switzerland. . > Peat fire smoke near Hamilton ' had also been raised as an objection to the site., However, in a very dry year, there had been very little smell of peat fire smoke at Hillcrest, and last year none at all. / The outlook from the site at Hill- * crest was very charming, as there were views of wooded country and hills in the background. Medical experts considered this outlook would have a beneficial psychological effect on tubercular patients. Proximity to a City There were advantages in having a site near to the city of Hamilton, which was a growing city. These ■ outweighed the advantages of sites in more remote and elevated regions. Dr. Short replied to the objection

that the damp, heavy air of Hillcrest provided a perfect carrier for T.B. germs. He said the dampness was not an added factor in conveying infection. It was the dust particles in the air of buildings and recreational places which carried the infection.

Climate had no special value in the treatment of tubercular', patients. Nowadays doctors were not concerned with sending * patients away, but found other means of achieving results. English hospitals were building their T.B. institutions nearer to the centres of population. In Australia they were not sending their patients to the, Blue Mountains.

Rest is Important

Rest to the injured part was the main principle of treatment today, especially with tuberculosis of the lung. The lungs were called on to do work according to the demand for •oxygen. When patients were in bed the demand for oxygen was much reduced. Whether the case was an early one or a late one the essential steps of treatment were to keep the patient in bed to rest the lung. Doctors relied in all methods of treatment on resting the lung . Access of relatives, friends and business associates was another factor in the recovery of patients, who had to be. under treatment for a matter of years. In this connection Hillcrest was readily accessible to those who wished to visit patients. Another point was that it was desirable to have a sanatorium near to a base hospital so that medical and surgical care would be available. Hillcrest was close to the Waikato Hospital. All sanatoria that were out in the •country had difficulty in keeping a staff. It was desirable to have a sanatorium near a city in order to ensure that beds were not empty because of shortage of staff. It had been alleged that the committee which selected the Hillcrest site were thinking more of the interests of the staff than of the patients. However, the medical advisers were concerned with securing the best advantages for > patients. The personnel of the committee was such that they were thinking only of the welfare of the patients. Their reputations as medical men were at stake in the matter. , Board Members Satisfied

Mr A. McGougan said he had listened to the address with the great-

est interest was now much better informed. / Mr H. C. McCready endorsed these remarks, saying the address had cleared any doubts. The chairman, Mr J. Mullins, thanked Dr. Short for attending.. Mr C. A. Suckling who had represented the board at a conference of boards in the South Auckland area, said he had been convinced after he inspected the site. It was on a spur and faced the sun. For drainage, sun aspect and general aspect it would be hard to excel. Proximity to Hamilton was also a factor.

The secretary, Mr F. Prideaux, reported that the objection which the board had raised would be dealt with by an amendment. Only Opotiki and Whakatane had not agreed at the conference to join in, and had been given a month in which to decide. Opotiki had since agreed to' come in.

The chairman thought the board should join in now that it had the information, and in view of the further proposal for a mobile T.B. unit. Mr Suckling moved and Mr McGougan seconded a motion that the board become a contributing body, subect to approval of the final agreement. This was approved without dissent or comment.