T.B. ON COAST

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20098, 18 November 1939, Page 4

T.B. ON COAST

WAIAPU FACILITIES NURSING AND DIAGNOSIS SPECIALIST TREATMENT ANNEXE AT TE PUIA (Special to the Herald.) TE PUIA, this day. . The advisability of providing at the Waiapu Hospital, Te Puia, an annexe for the treatment of tuberculosis cases, especially troublesome in this area owing to the number of Maori cases, was impressed upon members of the Waiapu Hospital Board on Thursday by Dr. M. H. Watt, Direc-tor-General of the Department Health, who attended a meeting of the board and gave a general outline of the necessities of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. The director-general was accompanied on his tour of the Coast by Dr. L. S. Davis, medical officer of health at Gisborne, and was met by Messrs. A. J. H. Kirkham, chairman, M. Hyland, W. H. O. Johnston, W. F. Metcalfe, C. H. McCracken, and H. Williams, members of the Waiapu Hospital Board. Also in attendance at the conference were Dr. E. C. Grant, medical superintendent at Te Puia, and Mr. J. Todd, secretary of the board. t Addressing the board members, Dr. Watt discussed among other things the matter of tuberculosis treatment, which, he said, was giving the department much concern so far as the Waiapu board's district was concerned, owing to the number of sufferers among the Maori people. He stated that though the sanatoria, of which there are five in New Zealand, are an essential part of the campaign against tuberculosis in New Zealand; activity centred upon local hospitals is equally important.

Periodic Investigation

There was a need, said Dr. Watt, for tuberculosis clinics and special annexes at all hospitals, so that patients or suspected cases could receive diagnosis by a specialist if possible, and could be given whatever treatment was thought best for their particular needs. Some might have a term in the local annexe, others might be sent to sanatoria if that class of nursing was indicated. It was most important that these patients should have special accommodation in the local hospitals, where they could rest and receive necessary nursing before actual diagnosis by visiting specialists and after. In most districts, there was special accommodation of this type, attached to the general hospitals, but Waiapu lacked this facility. To attempt to nurse tuberculosis cases in the wards of a general hospital was most unsatisfactory, said Dr. Watt. Nor was the Waiapu district enjoying the advantages of periodic visits from a tuberculosis specialist. These should be provided and arranged for by the board. Use of Existing Facilities As to the extent and type of the special accommodation for tuberculosis cases, Dr. Watt advised the board that the annexe should be close to the general hospital—close enough if possible to enable the existing kitchen, laundry and staff quarters to serve both the general hospital and the annexe. Without knowing how many patients would have to be dealt with at the hospital, he was not prepared to recommend either site or design; but he undertook to have the number of likely patients ascertained as accurately as possible. After this survey was made, an officer of the department would visit Te Puia and examine possible sites, and make recommendations as to the buildings and organisation necessary.

Dealing with the treatment of tuberculosis cases in huts, Dr. Watt said that 24 of these huts had been installed for Maori sufferers at the homes of patients in the Waiapu Hospital district, and they had proved a most useful adjunct in the campaign. They provided the means of segregation of active cases which otherwise would be impossible in Maori homes. Education of Sufferers So satisfied was the department with the result of the hutment experiment that funds had been applied for to allow the scheme to be extended into other districts. The huts would be much more valuable, however, if their occupants could have a previous period in hospital, so that they might be educated in the methods of hospitalisation and segregation. Thus the hutment scheme and the hospital administration would be linked together. Occupants of the huts could be under regular supervision by district nurses, of whom there were 16 In the East Cape health district to deal with a copulation of 60,000. The ratio of nurses to the population figure was larger in this health district than in others. At the conclusion of Dr. Watt's address Mr. Kirkham thanked the director-general for his visit and for his advice. He stated that all members of the board were deeply interested in the effective treatment of tuberculosis, which was one question which all realised must be faced resolutely.