Move To Get Maternity Home At Shannon

Chronicle (Levin), 15 September 1949, Page 3

Move To Get Maternity Home At Shannon

Seeking support and comments on the' advisability of a. maternity hospitfti ffly shannon and disr trict, tbe Shannon Borough Coun^ cii has written to the Horowhenua County Council The letter wus received ut the council's meeting yesterday.. At lu§t month's meet-r ing of the Palmerston North HqsPitai goard the flrst overtures for cpnsideration of the erestion of such a hospitai were also made. in its letter tp the county council, the borough requested an ex^ pression Of opinion" on the prorB'psal and support, adding that Shannon had " a very just ciaim for such un amenity. Commenhng, the chairman, Mr. A. M. Coiguhoun, who is aiso the counpii's hepresentative on the hospitai board, said that the board had felt that it could not dq anyihing in the matter until further detailed information was forthconhng' on which to base the case, The same applied to the council in any case it would not be for the council to Pursue the matter. "We wouM not appreehafe the hospitai boaad recommending to us the necessity for a bridge being Puhi We can support the borough council mpraiiy, but we are not in the position to do much eise at the mdment," he a4dedThe aupstipn would probably come w at the next hospitai board meeting, continued the chairman, when further mformation as to "population and other factors 'wouid he avahable, There was a maternity home planned fpr Levin, oniy a short distance from Shannon, There was also a home at Foxton, a distance of nine or ten miies. and others at Palmerston North, a distance of 24 milesAnpther* ppint was one coneerning the medical fraternity. There was bnly one doctor in Shannon and it was a question whether, in yiew of this fact, it was adyisahie to build a maternity home there at the moment, cr. j. d. Aitchison said that if it Vas the ppiicy of the Palmerston North Hospitai Board to build maternity hbmes around the country then shannon shouid have its share. After further discussion it was decided to write to the Shannon Borqugh Council to the effect that ag fhe matter was at present the prime concern of the hospitai board, the council was nqt in the position to determipe the merjts or pther wise, but would offer any help that the hoard's favourable cohsideration of the proposai permitted. ' At last mqnth's meeting of the Palmerston North Hospitai Board the first overtures for consideration of such a hospitai were also ina.de. The council in a letter to ihe board pointed out that Shannon was the only borough 111 the hoard's district without the services of a maternity home, and it was contended that the population of' the town and district warrantT ed such an institution. The borough council's representatiye on the board, Mr. V- JCottle, said that the establjshment of two large settlements at Mangaore and Okuku Road for the power house and rehabilitation projects respectively would considerably enlarge the district's population and thus extend the demand for a maternity home. "The whole ovf the area along the coast is going to grow rather pipre rapidly than we think," said , Mr. Cottle, forecasting a general increase in population throughout the district. Further, he added, patients had to travel considerable distanqes to other district maternity homes. If further maternity accpmmodation were 'to be provided for the district it was probably better to centre it in Levin, which was not so far distant from Shannon as to be inconvenient, said ! the managing-secretary (Mr- A. j. Phililpps) . It was not considered advisable, he continued, that I a home shouid be locate'd in a one-doctor practice area, such as

Qbtained at Shannon. A home at Shannon would he too close tp the board's three other institutions in the surrounding distficts Of Levin, Foxton and Otaki, said «> the chairman (Mr. J. A. Nash) . On Mr. Cottle's motion, seconded by M?sf o. C. Petersen, the managing-rsecretary and. the act- • ing medical superintendent (Dr. J. D. Wiliis) were appointed to investigate all aspects of the prpposal.