INFLUENZA

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 45, 18 November 1918, Page 6

INFLUENZA

!' , ;—o ■ ; J THE OUTLOOK HOPEFUL ! HOSPITAL AND DISTRICT p REPORTS I MORE HELPERS WANTED ! h ALL HOSPITALS FULL . The tone of the Teports from the hosipitals yesterday, was encouraging. It i cannot : be said that the disease is defini itsely' "beaten;' 'but it may be pointed out r .that now that the organisations are working better than they did at first ; excellent results may be looked for in ; the near future. Meantime the dca'ch- ' roll is heavy, and there are so many ! grave cases on hand that further deaths appear inevitable. ' People who con- ; tract the disease now are taking greater , care of themselves, than those who were stricken earlier in the period of the epidemic. This extra caio will result in a lessening of the death-roll, for many : have died .through taking risks that few would take ; now. Voluntary workers, ■ motor-cars, and food are needed badly, Land it is hoped that all will be forth- ' coming without another appeal for them ;' having to be made. Much depends on i the. response to these appeals. Although : many cars are wanted, the city and the , suburbs were .alive with motors >on Sati urday/and yesterday. Even tradesmen's : turnouts Tvere converted into ambulances, : and they plied their way all day and ; far .into the night.. Wellington Central was simply alive with ambulances. i The voluntary workers have come upon ! • Borne casee in diTe need—people lying unattended for days, without food or [ drink. , ••■ ' • I j 116 Cases in Wellington Hospital. At the end of last week there were 116 influenza cases in Wellington Hospi- ■ tal. : Fifty-seven of these were patients ■ from without the institution, and fifty- • nine were members of the Hospital staff., j Nearly the whole' of the fifty-nine are I nurses and'doctors. ' ' ' ■ i There was a hopeful ring about the .news from the Hospital. Several-pa- ; tients had been discharged, and the feel- ! ing was that the unseen enemy was bei'vg '. kept pace with. Nevertheless, the beds ! which were vacated by those well enough t_to leave them were immediately filled :~br others who had been overtaken by j the disease. ! The Sisters of Compassion. St. Patrick's College, converted into a

; hospital only a couple of days ngo, is i full. Like St. John's Schoolroom, it , taps the ami of the city which is most i i effected by .the .disease, and some of. the ! cases which have been taken in are exi ceptionally bid. The nursing is being done by the Sisters of Compassion, a self- • sacrificing band of women who. are pecu- ; liarly adapted to the work. Among the i patients whom the sisters are nursing : are two of the little men from India who have mode their appearance in Wellington in recent years. These men take ! the disease very badly, and their condi- ■'. tion Tapidly becomes grave. Lay-women ' are helping the sisters in various waya, ■ > and very fine work is being done all ■ through. The News'-from Central, , ' Mr. Peter Eraser. M.P., teported Inst evening that" the strain oh the organisation, which has its headquaiters in St. John's Schoolroom and which deals lorge- : ly with the Te Aro flat area, has les- !' While recognising that this was '■ a welcome sign, Mr. Frasor said that it had to be reckoned thut at first the organisation encountered the full rush of • work, and the .fact that the accumulated work had bean dealt with did not necesi sarily mean that there was a reduction , in tho steady stream of new cases. Tho ', voluntary workers were doing splendidly, I, but more help was required. The woi men had worked wonderfully, and great ' good had been done by those who had t undertaken the visiting. Some of the V women and some of the messengers had ■ had a hard time through having much : walking to do, anil cars were urgently i wanted for them. Food for the sick and ; tho helpless also was wanted. I •• Cheery Words from Newtown. ; •'■ The Newtown headquarters stated last ! '■ 6venir.g , ''that tho outlook was cheering. > Tho.'women attached to the organisation hod been visiting throughout the district. p v ''They had sponged people whom they j found lying ill. made them comfortable, i and procured them food and medicine. ;..■ Last evening there wore only two cases remaining to be attended to. There had ;-'• been a slackening off in the number ; of urgent calls for help. Food is apl pealed for—jellies, eggs, custards, soup. •'■ Convalescent Hospital^Opened. I '.Yesterday St. Thomas's Hall, NewS town, was opened as a hospital for con- ; vale-scents. Helpers are wanted for the ).■ running of tho establishment. Workers J were busy there yesterday. Cooking ar- ', rangements were rushed into the buildi ing, and beds were conjured up from j t somewhere. More beds are needed. i,\ ; Church Services Curtailed. 1 -Most denominations cut out all church I services yesterday. In the Roman CathoI lie churches low masses were celebrated. (•■ There ..were no evening services. . ■ ~-fiu.-7 - ' '■.'•■'■■■■•:■•■ : The Need for Motor-cars, i On all sides yesterday there was a j cry for more motor-cars. Not only aro I s •• cars needed as ambulances, but they are required to take many of the hundreds i of voluntary workers from placo 'to j place, to take messages about, and to '•-. transport necessafies. There is a-i feel- : ing that many cars are still lyiiig in : their garages, and a hope was expressed ; by some voluntary workers yesterday •. that the Government would not delay ■ longer, .in tb's matter .of commandeering -as many vehicles as were wanted. One instance may serve to show the ; hardship which is being inflicted through ! the lack of cars. A 'Sister of Compas- : eiou,' who is nursing, had to walk into the city from Kilbirnie at 4 o'clock yes- , terday morning. • Apart from all other , considerations, the valuable time thus , lost reduces the efficiency of the system. i Oranges and Soda Water Sold Out. ;'• Four things "sold out" in the shops on I •■ Saturday—oranges, lemons, soda water, '; and pineapples. Oranges and lemons ;'■ vent from most of the shops on Friday, r and on Saturday the rush for soda water could not be met. Rhubarb and lemon- ; ado also were in great demand. There is j ■ no immediate prospect of most of these i. articles reappearing in the windows. ! Many Without Meat, 1 .4 good many people went without .' fresh meat over 'he week-end. There was : an early rush on the butchers' shops, ' and. the short staffs were kept working ' at such high pressure thnt by noon some ■ 'of them had sold out. In one quarter i of the city quite a number of butcheries had closed down because all hands are '. ill, and this caused a heavy- demand ■ on any who remained open. In one popu- : lons seaside suburb only one butchery opened its doors on Saturday morning. "Be Cheerful"—A Priest's Advice. Some time before there was any general move in the matter, Catholic congregations were warned by their priests to take all precautions against tho epidemic. Advice as to what to do was given and preventive measures for individuals were stated from tho pulpits, i Similar advice has since been impressed on congregations. Speaking '-at St. Patrick's Church. Kilbirnie, yesterday, (lie , Rev. Father, Campbell again stressed the seed for care and precaution. The dis- : easo. was'serious enough, he said, but many of the deaths 'had occurred through ; people omitting to take sufficient care of ; themselves, lie considered it important, : too, to avoid taking fright; be cheerful. '; The priests were working at high presi sure answering urgent calls, and they ; found that, notwithstanding all that had i been published in the Press, quite a numi ber of people did not know what to do ! ' for those about them who fell ill. In I. the course of their sick visits priests

had come upon people who had been without even a drink for three (lays. Camp Reports. Tho following is a Humn.ary of Saturday's camp, hospital reports:— Treii- I'ealher- Awnfiinm. stou. piiui. Paraded sick 74. 72 2 Admitted to'hospital 58 25 1 Total in hospital 1592 1169 3G Defence Department's Aid, The Defence Department is rendering every possible assistance, and already a number of medical orderlies front Awapuni Camp have been attached to the civil hospital the city. It) is understood that a further number will arrive to-day to be placed at the disposal ,oi the authorities. This action is much appreciated by the civil authorities, especially in view of the fact that tho epidemic has been so prevalent in the larger camps. Equipment far temporary hospitals has been furnished by the Department, whose medical staffs, administrative and professional, have responded nobly to the emergency. A word of praise is due to the rank and file ot the Medical Corps, .who are taking up their work with enthusiasm. Every man possible will be .spared to assist the Health Department in its strenuous fight against the disease. Officers and men on the Headquarters staff are not sparing themselves, and n.ro working at. high pressure. An inhalation chamber has been in use for several days at Headquarters, and the staff are requested to make use of it at least once a day. N