PUBLIC HEALTH AFFAIRS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 727, 28 January 1910, Page 3

PUBLIC HEALTH AFFAIRS.

$ THE ANTI-CONSUMPTION CRUSADE. '■ .. - [By: Danvers . Hambeh.'l . When tho Estimates'-for tho financial year Avero boforo .Parliament, the saving etteotcd by tho retrenchment policy put into force by the new: Chief. Health Officer :(Di'.. Valintine) ■ was estimated i: at <£15,01)0 for tho year. ..Dr. Valintino is the authority for the statement that a lurthor saving of .£3OOO has.been effected, tho amount not having :liebn' included in' the-lato'Estimates'.-' Rather naturally tho 'question is , asked as to lioav economics running into/somo J!18,000 in the aggrei gato_ aro going to benefit - the public health ;of, tho 1 Dominion, and this per*ln®n'. question has hot been so far satisfactonly ansAvered.- .Retrenchment,:: or curtailment of.. . expenditure, does not necessarily mean, increased benefit,- 'or benefit equal .to.- that .under tho old re-; B'ine. .It is understood that no. appointinont ,of a • sueeessor to Dr. , Purdy as. ■Ilealtli Ofiicer ■ for tho Aueldand. district to. be niade. ; Dr.'Makgill trill attend '.to the duties, and'it is believed that ,to fill;his.- place in Wellington a bacteriologist is to !» imported from the : ; 01d ■Country..'-.Dr. .Prengley, Health Officer for : the Wellington . district, -. and , .Dr, Pinch,-' Health Ofiicer for.the Canterbury .district, Avill .probably. hav« their... duties 'and responsibilities increased..'The latter; is; most likely to ha\'c practically the. .controhof tho avliolg of the South Island,* and'Avith a. larger'sphere'of duties: a'proportionately. increased salary may,-legiti-mately bo: expected by caoli of 'tnese' experienced officers. , The city of Dunedin is not to .be pi-ovided Avith a resident Public' Health Department doctor, but some;arrangement ivith qualified persons' is' : under consideration, ■so : that Dunedin shall, not be isolatediin time of need. All these changes may bo economic,. but on the face of them they do not' appear to ..be- so. Certainly -Dr. Finch's wider field .of; operations' Avill necessitate 'additional clerical Assistance at his head; ofilce.. Waikato Sanatorium. ;''Where. Dr. Valintine expects, to effect a remarkably large saving is iri tlie cost of, running 'To Waikato Sanatorium at Cambridge.^,.,;. Accordiiig ,to tlio - Chief Health'- Officer's figures , tho' annual cost amounts : to .tIO,GOO. Dr.. Yalintino in-, tends: that tlio sanatorium; shall' be. conducted 'at [iiv annual- expenditure ,- of. £4000, 'a.'sayihg; or reduction of iOOOO.. It, is of courso easy to cut down tho expenditure . to JC4OOO, i but AA-lial' of . 'the measure 'an'd: of 'efficiency following : such drastic; reform ? - .Tlie .whole scopo and general idea of Dr. Valintine's scheme is not . yet' known, .but parts of it are -to hand, . and- prove sufficiently amattractivo to .cause-; tho- resignation of four - out of. ithe, five ..Bisters,; all'certificated : nurses,•'with high credentials, AA'hilo. tho , fifth stays on temporarily, to assist tho kcav matron, ■ Miss • Inglis, - of the St. Helens; Maternity :' Home, Christchurcli. . Tho nursing ' staff - is; to ; be "considerably .re-, duccd. l Few of. tho, old nurses are .remaining and as the. cheaper schemo'in-, tends ;,tho. employment of .non-certificated, .nurses as responsible -'heads ,of ' colonies' .or wards, there may: .be, a feeling of n p. prehension ill the public mind regarding t'lii) neAV '.inethods .to bo adopted in com-; baiihg/tho disease-iyhich; causes so much' havoc, throughout;the 'Avorld. Under-. Dr. : yalintiiie's'-.scheihb. every patient-coming iutb'vtho;- sanatonum : Avill : liaA-e ' to , pay or.be paid for. ,In tho past.'. charitablo aid;;boards, have - avoided .their, responsibility ..ill. connection with * destitute patients sent to the . sanatorium,, by them. So; far as' patients .AA'illing .to pay for themselves aro 'cbhcenied the :futurb is notJ yet- clear;- ,but. it is generally iinaerstoqdc that! all male; patients, will bo in one .'-.colony-; and that' the ' singlo.-sheler accommodation . plaii,. Afhich; has i Arorked' so: satisfactorily .Vith.jtho privato .payinji: patients,.:may.; ; not::bejcontinued. for any. length; of'time.:-The idea, of ;'providiiig patients able to Avork Avith .suitable eni-i ploymeht'. to; keep - them :in bodily, con--dition has long been, a featuro. at - Cambridge,;but.Dr.. Valintine liopes'to see this ..id'ea'*'olabbrated: so' that .a good deal of yvork hitherto '• done by paid labour -'shall loo;,accomplished by. the. patients. Some few weeks ago it was .stated! that the ivarero ■; tree-planting, camp, near Rotorua, Avould not ;be -reopened. -When on, an official visit..to the .Cambridge . Sanatoriuih. the ■ other i day, Dr. - Valintine, explained that the, statement Avas incorrect. , Thoi bovernment recognised' the importaneo ;of -providing some ' work for . "men. who wero able, to: do light labour,, liiit hot:,able to competo .with perfectly, halo and hearty workers... Tlm-camp, would be -reopened! -siud the Chief .Health but under conditions completely different • to thoso obtaining at Karere hitherto. The men would ? work, under -; the..:, control ■of .- tho .-MWHS Department. sisters .or.-.nurses 'Could:bc:.-pr6vided,-aiid -all arrangements regarding. stores,; cooking, saiiitarv" matters,; and , shelters would-have to ibe madb by - the _ men ithemseh'es. -Even with' tlio changed conditions, the rbopeiiin" of the' tree-planting:. camp - will be' hailed ivith ostoome:;salisfaction ;by - the: class of lvorkcrs. de'sorihod above, .for in the-'two seasons' it;has-been established the benefit to the men-has largely exceeded the expectaHons uf.'the originators of; the idoaTj ls li io s. h i ort and • I)r - Mason, late. Chief Health Officer- for. New 'Zealand. . Noarly.a. Million.Trees Planted. , - Tho: t%-planting i-was; :pieeeArork- at seven shillings ■ per. thousand trees, and :from,; £irie, '1908,, until' the close of .-last yeaiv.the first and second camps -planted nearly .one, million : trees.;' It was found that tho, planting of 000 tress a day ner man - Avas; a . sufficient - task. .-.When it is' remembered that it, is extremely hard for ? n , ex-pahent to'- get suitable Avork, and ■ indeed,yhpw difficult : it' is' to find : an em-I)loyer-grilling to: engage-an ex-sanatorium u orker, . the yaluo of . the Ivarero camp cannot bo over-estimated.' As Dr. Valintine pointed out in. his. .rcccnt v visit- to thoro are; nqt. euough .'words in the English languago .to coinuiend-tho-fano work done by. Sister, TJrquharfc at the camp. - , : . Work for Women. ; '"f? 10 t ] . c , a , rorc , Cau| l' affords tho :. male, pauent tho : chance lie requires,. but . so iar thero is lio' work for tlio able female pahenh Miss Eoclifort has' long , had the ldca-.that an orch'aril-'planting camp someAVliat -on ; the. lines of - JCarerb • could .bo; established-on' Government; lands in the south. -. Fruit farms, could .'bo planted,' 1 and.; subsequently, sold or leased." This isatf idea Avell Avortliy ;of co'nsideratibn, for tho femalo patients; have little' or no clianco of obtaining tho scanty employment .offering in the open'.market to:the malo -patient, and yet .many such girls and Avoinen aro' quite ..well enough, and strong-enough .to undertake some form of light labour. .. . - ■ The Retiring Matron. ■ • ■ .The retiring '..-matron,. Miss ..Roehfort,: has. practically been." at' the; head of To Waikato. Sdnatorium since its establishment ' soino seven year's.' ago, though. she .AA-as aAv'ay'in England in 1908 for the purpose' of..acquiring a personal knowledge of lioav sanatoria were,, conducted in • Knglaiid. The. sanatorium; has been Miss Rochfort's life study, and. thoso" avlio , have, seen: the;, full.. measure of success slio has attained, at, Cambridge -.' know that this-is: tho ctoAvn of lier:life's Arorl:,. beloved by every member, of lier' nursing staff, from tho; beginning to tho elpso of her career at "Tlio Hill,and-honoured by every patient at the sanatorium during tho same - period.'-: Miss Roclifort iioav seeks a.fitting rest.from the strenuous duties required from those whoso, life' is spent in caring for the sick. . Sho'has" seen much of ill-health, and noiv goes to look for a time-on the brighter side of life, never to forgot those with. Aviiom, ami-thoso for whom,■ slio has Avorked, and probably to, cvoh-o some greater schemo of aid for thoso helpless . ones. whoso Ha'cs throush ill-health ore not cast in. pleasant places. , . . ..