CONSUMPTION-ITS TREATMENT.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 918, 10 September 1910, Page 10

CONSUMPTION-ITS TREATMENT.

Sir,—The present 'moment appears to me opportune for a.few remarks on the above subject, 'i'hero is no doubt that the vast majority of people to-day are quite uuconcerned as to the "great white plaguo" and its ravages. Medical men toll us that during'the. past few years the proportion of deaths Irom consumption has gradually decreased,. and this is' cheering, Thero is, however, in-, the state-' meat not.the slightest ground for. feeling: that wo have now reached a stage in tho' battle when'.we 'can : relax our : efforts 1 against tho enemy; rather can ; it be said that there never was a rctni>v-»t when the need for vigilance arid "nun ir.nd effort was greater. : Tho victc;V. .••..■ nearly won, the toe-so nearly .van>,u..,i]'.M,., and yot. we must fight--yes, fight. to-the end:.You ask, perhaps, why I write:thus. ■'■' I do!,so because I find the tendency on every hand is, to say the-sanatorium treatment is not a success, and. the great gospel of the open air has not dono what was claimed for'it, and wo shall settle down to our old ways, wo shall return to our comfortable cosy rooms, and not expose ourselves to the rigours of this "openair treatment." I go higher. I find that the Government of New Zealand-, who some years ago established : a sanatorium at Cambridge, has been " disappointed; they havo lost heart, and are." about to give up. I speak of my. certain knowledge— Cambridge Sanatorium 'is to bo closed. "It has proved too great an expense, and'the results are not 1 satisfactory," so quote the men in power.,-They do not show.'--'their I ', hand openly at tho present moment, but the decree-has gone iorth— Cambridge is doomed. 'So be it. Wo who fight are sad that after so long they should givo up, but wo must not lose heart—tho battle is still, for us to wage. ■.'■'_

But let ns seriously consider tho push Hon. Some.' years ago the (sbverhme.nl', at tho suggestion, I believe, of Dr. Mason, late Chief Health Officer, determined to establish a . sanatorium ■ oil the Al'angukawa Range, out of Cambridge, for-, the treatment of tuberculosis of tho lungs. Through varying fortunes it has como u> this day, when tho father of the movoment, Dr. Mason, is no longer o.t tho head of affairs, but another. king l known to Joseph. This is Dr. Valintirie, ', whoso aro largoly directed .to the cutting down of expenses.' The sanatorium does not appeal to him as anything more than our'of.-tho? most expensivo items in his -Department.-.He inaugurates his policy of retrenchment, with the : result, that, the then matron—o. woman respected by all who know her—together with practically tho whole of the hiirsing staff, resigned. It is ; .ridiculous, to suppose that all. these, women .were mistaken. They considered the new regime as—no improvement, and they left.' .The next quarter froni which a protest came was from, the patients themselves. Afflicted with a deadly trouble, driven from friends and homes, they aro now to "know, in addition to' their other woes, tho tyranny of a policy in which retrenchmont is the first plank. Let Dr. Valintino and his friends dispute this. 1 know positively: thati.the .patients .who previously were the- first were now made the fourth, and tho do-

mon of "cutting down" stalked'through the.laud..--But you say: "Tho- patients, did . not pay, something?" Yos, they did, and therein lies a greater mystery. I'or tho luxury ol thin experience they paid in the majority of cnatM 31s. Ud. u week, while a tew free beds aro provided, these last patients being paid for by tho reflpectiiy Charitable Aid' Hoards concerned. The next catastrophe was the resignation of Dr. Hoberts, a man associated with the institution from its inception, and one upeciailj tAaiwd nt th* treatment of chest troubles. Dr. Howden, the present doctor, may be an. excellent man, but ho Is trammelled in a way that many men would not stand. His appointment' in' pu roiMil that it is diti:cult at the present time to rightly estimate is advantages, although no doubt it is an improvement in somo ways. Wo have now como to things .as they aro to-day. Tho institution which' hw> heen a haven oi refuge.to the. sick and dying for so,.many, years■ totters to.its fall; a retrenching Government can no longer light the great curse of civilisation. What does, this mean? In tho Auckland province we will have no institution of this kind at all.'.'aud aU though the Auckland Cliaritablii , Aid Board is moving. We know well that it will be some .considerable timo before the building (for which the site is not yet chosen) is rend'v to receive. pAtieiits. Nor is this the.whole ill; rather onlyvth'e part. Sanatoria in this country are only prepared to take patients for whom there is a reasonable chance of recovery. Those 'who are too ill are.left either to die in their homes, or sent, in the. Auckland province, to the Costley Home. ; Tlio objections to'the:latteivpiace were set forth :by a correspondent in the "New Zealand Herald" . some littlo timo ago. Tho terrors of the former are indescribable. In homes where no; precautions'are 'taken, and where young children and older .peu sons rim out .andin of the sick n.om all :day, the danger iOf infection'is. tremendous. A doctor 'not' long since told mo he recently sent' 1 a young girl ;to a sanatorium to try'and.save .the-restof thb;ianrily, too:'bad .to-be-takoh in -thore, and was sent back'to her home to die, and pro'bablyl.infect iour'or.five.-.bro-. thers and sisters. . - ■•■ . . .'.

, ,Whnt wo seem to heed is,a comprehensive plan iof campaign, where |nll classes of consumptive cases mayihe treated. For this purpose we need isa'natoria for "curiililfi" ease*, ehest hospitals fot chVimtcb, and industrial camps- for .convalescents. The system could be extended to'home treatment in. exceptional oises i where tho, patients are only just "touched.".'-Legis-lation should be enacted to 'ensure < notification of all cases.' 'In private;life, the people of the Dimiipion.suould watoh the "first line of ..defence" which Dr.,Faulkrcr.'of Dnnediu, quoted the other day -as"the open cottage window." There .should not be fear, but care, as we coine iii touch '-with, affected persons.:.;'.' .'"".'■' ; ;'-.'.V •'"■' . i notice.that in South 'Africatheio ib a proposal on-foot'to-eatablish 1 .&.'■ sanatoi-. iuiri for lint troatmout of tuberculosis as a national 'memorial'-"to- "Edward the Peacemaker." New Zealand,:so.far.as I ■im awarei has up to date not; considered tho matter. Is'the suggestion; hot a good one? Let iis do the same thing..iLook at AVellington Vitfi'.its; Children's Hospital the other day. 'There is not lacking the sympathy and 'support, if the: .thing was set forward in a proper' way.; There is a great deal to be said in the matter, and a; conference of. medical men and .others interested' throughout, the Dominion would,-1 feel confident, be productive: ■of great good. .*.--.'" ■ ''■■■'■■• :'"■' '•:.; ; .-;-..; Hoping this, may stir up tho slumbering interest.—l. am, etc., ■■■ -' '~': WILLrAM,TELL..v ilauiiltoii,; September 6. .