Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star FRIDAY, NOVEMBER, 5, 1920. HOSPITAL AFFAIRS.

Hokitika Guardian, 5 November 1920, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star FRIDAY, NOVEMBER, 5, 1920. HOSPITAL AFFAIRS.

The conference of representatives of West Coast Hospital Boards at Greymouth on Monday was rendered ■, penally important by the proposal put be- ■ fore the meeting by the representatives of the Health Department. The pro- - posals however were in very bare form, and the officials were not fortified with any statement of figures or estimates to show either cost or economy 'n their suggestions. As the public are called upon to find a large proportion of the cost, it is essential that the monetary aspept should be fully disclosed. Of , late years, taking this district as an example, the coßt of running the in- - stitutions has mounted up abnormally. To meet the position to some extent it was decided to close two hospitals within the district, hut this did not I give any financial relief, because the cost is higher now than ever it was, and seems certain to mount liigher still. At the Greymouth meeting there were two main proposals, first, to establish a more expensive hospital centre • at Greymouth; and second, to amalgamate the homes for the aged in one central institution at Greymouth. With regard to the first proposition, the , meeting was not agreed, hut, favored the second suggestion. In regard to a more expensive institution for medical services at Greymouth, at this juncture the time is not opportune. The expense of hospital maintenance at present is too high as it is, and the proposal given effect to, will add very greatly to the charges at a time when material and labor are at the highest. Looking to fhe situation as it is, and the fact that the Midland railway will he available for through traffic within two years or so, the well established ' institution at Christchurch could serve all parts of the Coast with which it will bo in direct railway communication so far as special cases are concerned, or clinical methods may be necessary. ( To attempt to imitate a big institution such as Christchurch hospital on the Coast at this stage, appears on the face of it, an expensive and unnecessary duplication of the special departments. It would mean, also, extra medical officers at high whereas a special centre could he made of the Christchurch institution to cater for the Coast. In the same wav expensive plants with experts to attend to them, could be avoided. This is how the proposal strikes the lay mind. It seems to involve extra, expense when the money could be saved by a system of centralisation which would afford greater relief to the taxpayers. That conclusion brings us to the second proposition, which is centralisation of a home for the aged. This will be favored because of the economy it will ensure. And with economy there should be also greater comport for the old people in the improved accommodation it would be possible to afford in a, central home. •But members should put aside any hope of such a home being self supporting in the way of garden «r dairy produce, if the labor of the old people is to be the motive power. The old folk in general have passed the allotted span of life before entering the homes and are mostly not able to do everything for themselves. It is nursing and individual care they require, and very little work on their part can be looked for. There is no doubt the homes now in use on the Coast are old and obsolete. They are buildings which have served their day first as hospitals and their lack of modernity certainly condemns them for hygenic reasons. They are all fairly ripe with age and ready for condemnation. 'Rebuilding is in some instances highly necessary, and if this has to be faced, then the proposal to build a central home has a good deal to commend it. As to site, Greymouth, would be the more central at the moment. It has to be remembered that Westland is spreading more and more south, and in a decade or two the balance might be moved, particularly as the railway goes south. That however is for the future. For the present and some time to come, Greymouth has some claim which cannot ,be reasonably ignored and for the sake of the comfort and happiness of the aged who have to seek such a final resting place for the evening of tlicir days, a new homo convenient and modern in every way is not too much to desire. As to the sentimental side of the question we cannot hut think that homes of this nature should he of a national and not a local character. They should be removed from the surroundings of charity as it were, and placed in a suitable position for occupation as a right. It is a call of humanity to provide for the assured comfort of the aged. The country attempts this with thei pension scheme which is there as a right for those who need it. So with those less fortunate who as Hie

years creep on them, find themselves less able physically to care for themselves, the doors of the home should stand open, and they should Ire welcome to enter. That should be a national and not a local charge. Indeed the whole question of public health is tending in that direction, for the people of the poorer localities should have the same opportunities of expert means to regain failing health as those f the richer localities. The populous, wealthy community has no difficulty in conducting a well-staffed and equipped institution, whereas it is a struggle and a denial for the poorer quarters of the Dominion to provide perhaps indifferent institutions which the Health officers tell us are behind the cities. Because of this, nationalisation of all health administration is the inevitable in which case the Department could work its sweet will without overtaxing the people locally.