INFECTIOUS CASES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20106, 28 November 1939, Page 6

INFECTIOUS CASES

BEDS IN HOSPITALS ISOLATION FACILITIES OBLIGATION ON BOARDS The fact that infectious cases in the Opotiki Hospital Board’s district had applied for admission to the Cook Hospital, and that in one case the latter institution had been obliged to open up its isolation ward to cater for a patient from the neighbouring board’s area, was the subject of discussion at yesterday’s meeting of the Cook board.

A resident of Motu had written explaining the difficulty he had found in securing hospital treatment for his family during their illness owing to an infectious type of complaint. The Cook board's finance committee having investigated the matter, and found that the family lived in the Opotiki Hospital district, recommended: —

"That the managing secretary write to the Opotiki Hospital Board, pointing out that the responsibility for hospital treatment of this family rests with the Opotiki Hospital Board, and that this board cannot be expected to have to admit Opotiki cases merely on the grounds that there is a lack of accommodation in the Opotiki Hospital.”

Responsibility of Opotiki It was mentioned that there were several cases of infection about the same time, all traceable to the one source, and that all the cases were the responsibility of Opotiki. In one instance, a child had been brought to Gisborne, and at the urgent recomr. 'endation of the Health Department’s officer, had been admitted to Cook, though it was necessary for the isolation ward to be specially opened.

The position at Opotiki Hospital, commented the chairman, Mr. M. T. Trafford, was that accommodation had become so strained that nurses were quartered in the isolation block. The position at the Cook Hospital was similar, but to admit the child patient from the Opotiki district, the isolation block was recommissioned for its normal purpose. There was nc- reason why Opotiki should not have done that, instead of Cook, Mr. Trafford considered.

Other members of the board agreed with the chairman, and it was stated that other cases not far on the Opotiki side of the boundary had had to be isolated at home, because they could not get into their district hospital.