THE WHITE PLAGUE

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2283, 17 October 1914, Page 10

THE WHITE PLAGUE

STATE & BOARDS DISEASE ON THE INCREASE MEASURES PROPOSED Various aspects of' the fight-in New Zealand \ against , consumption were touched on. yesterday morning by a deputation consisting of members of the ■Wellington Hospital Board : which waited-. , 0n the Minister .of Public HealthV(the Hon. It: H. Rhodes). . Incidentally figures were quoted to show that the disoase is gaining ground in this country. . ■.■■:"■'. . ■ The Rev. "W. A. Evans (chairman of the ""Wellington Hospital Board) said that'-the deputation- had come to consider, with the Minister the question of carrying out the propaganda against tuberculosis. Being alive to' the situation, the Wellington Board had recently appointed Mr. .Basil Adams, whom .they believed to be a valuable man, to head the campaign for the board. Mr. Adams would arrive here at the beginning of next year. The feeling of the board was that the campaign must be' carried on on • clearly defined lines, ■ if best results were-to be obtained. The Dominion should be 'divided into districts; in each of which a .sanatorium should be established/ Secondly, all the''.sanatoria should be established on the same'footing, and be taken, over by tho, Government or administered by boards,'.as 'at present. , ■■ The present: position was that there were four* sanatoria.in ( New Zealand. The Waikafo Sahitorium drew ite patients from practically the whole of New Zealand. .This '.violated the principle of local responsibility, diarges. should be sufficient , to coyer all the costs.' They found that, at Otaki ■ Sanatpruim pa-, tients cost about £3' a "week, wliile the cliafge'was £2 2s; In addition, there were, .patients from outride from whom little was_ obtained. There should be a more stringentSexamihation of immigrants for ; a nffipiber.of. cases had'eome under, notice in .'which, people who-were .only-two weeks ' or,. so: here hadgone 'to', these institutions. It was necessary, also, .to"look after the- patients, .once-: they: were discharged'from sanatoria,, -and*.lie" suggested farm .colonies.

The Disease Advancing,

... 'Mr! B;R. Gardener said were really.onljr..three boards'.treating ; consumptive patients-HWellingtori, Duncdin, aiid Christchurcli—and it was unfair, that. other' Boards should' not bear a fair sliafe of the cost. "-■ In 1913) 524 cases were treated at. the'sanitoria out of; 1018 casesl notified , ..:: About 25 per cent of the cases were not notified. The deaths froin tuberculosis in 1913 numbered. ,812;; an 'increase of 96 over the number for 1912. The death rate through the ' disease ■ was 7.60 ' per .10,000 in 1913; -in-1912 the rate was 0.89.' in 10,000. It was in most cases , for consumptive patients to their, fees. , ;. In. seven years the Ofcaki Sanatorium had lost-over £45,000 .in; the .treatment of-patients. The cost of the?pa'tients,was £48,000, ■ and the fees received £3000... ;Of this loss, £10,000 had been incurred in the treatment of people who came from outside the Wellington district. In 4913 Wellington spent' £6000 on its -sanatorium, Christchurcb. over £9000,- and Dunedih £4000, while'-Auckland'contributed only £500 for the treatment of patients at Cambridge.- .'Wellington -recognised it as a duty (in one sense) to treat outside patients, 1 but it was very hard financially, and they, would, have, to seriously consider ".the;- question of. (like Christchurch)* resolving'-not to treat .outsiders. :

He urged, , also, . that ,care should be taken'or the children of consumptive parents, for' whom, he> said, nothing was done 'under the present system. The State' should hedp the hospital boards in the work, it - s was doing, and not encourage the disease by absolute neglect of the children.

; ( fhe Minister's Reply. The Minister, in his reply,' said that he recognised that there was need of better sanitary conditions, especially among the Maoris. It appeared to him that .the' deputtaion was of the opinion that the State' should undertake the campaign against tuberculosis. Personally, he '-, was not prepared at the moment to say that the State should do that. If it was conceded that the.State should undertake the campaign against tuberculosis and provide the" whole of j'.the cost, the State would, also, probably, have to carry on the work of fighting other diseases— cancer, for instance. He did not like too much. St'ate interference in these matters, and he thought the boards could be more efficient than the State in this respect." In Christchurch, he wont on, there,was a dispensary do- ' ing excellent, work, and he presumed that a, dispensary for "Wellington would follow. ; ' '■•'■'.-■".... ~'■■■ '.

. Mr. Evans:-Yes, we are just waiting till our expert' arrives. . Referring to what members of the deputation had'said as to the position , of Auckland, the Minister said that hoquite agreed .that there should be uniformity; ' The. conference (held some time ago), however, had not said that 'the Government should do the whole thing. ' ' -. ■- ■ ■ ■ ■ - ..-■Mr. Gardener: Excuse mo, yes—if• the boards 'did not. -■-.-. - ■ :

• Mr. Rhodes: Yes, if the boards fail-ed--in', ".their-■■responsibilities. But, ■ I repeat;-that, the boards can .do it better.: -. , . '■:. .-. • ■'-,'•'

■•;•.•■ ' . ! Bringing Auckland Into Line,

Continuing,' the'.Minister said he fiad beenin communication with Auckland, arid they- had undertaken to add to their' accommodation ■ for consumptives at/the Costley Home. Ho was prepared to toll Auckland that if they were not willing to do as other centres did, : they must pay the full cost of their patients at the To Waikato Sanatorium, and to tell them, also, that if.-it. was found necessary to increase the accommodation at that institution ; for Auckland patients that Auckland would-have to pay the capital cost;'; Proceeding, he said that one conference had been held, but that he proposed, to call another.. He would wait till after the arrival of Wellington's expert, -who might take part.'Ho thought :it wiso to call the superin-. tendents!. of the various districts together. 'On the subject of the proposed establishment of farm' colonies, he said that he would like to see them somewhere near the' eariatoria, so that the superintendents could supervise them. 1; He agreed that it was important that something should be done for the children, ' and mentioned that Ohristchurclf- had established two homes" '■''■', ■'. "■' \ . Mr.! , . Gardener': What we argue is that tho children _ of consumptives should be compulsorily examined medically every twelve months. Mr. '■'. Rhodes: The propaganda ' in Christdhurch is to educate the people, and I jam quito sure you can do something of that kind hero. Mr.''Gardener: Kill them first, and educate them afterwards! Mr. Rhodes: Well, I am not quite so Wcod-tlii:sty as that. MrJGardener: If wo aro to continue to take these outside patients, are you prepared to assist this board ae you assist the Cambridge institution? Suppose we refuse to take them, are you doin" iyour duty 'by letting thorn iun about ;the. country ppr.eadiflg theit &%■

I ease? If you say yoii can't assist us, we, as business men, shall 'have to say that Wβ simply cannot take outside patients, and wo shall have to send them on to Cambridge, a long distance from their friends.

Replying to a point raised by Mr. M'Laren to the effect 'that Wellington got a lot of patients from other places, Mr. Rhodes said that he must treat all boards alike, but that he was qiiite prepared to go into the whole question of finance, and he thought that Wellington should he entitled'to. special subsidy for the reason given-by the deputation. . ■ ■