MOVE FOR DENTAL CLINIC IN ROTORUA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 59, 31 October 1931, Page 3

MOVE FOR DENTAL CLINIC IN ROTORUA

COMMITTEE SET UP STEPS TO BE TAKEN TO GUARANTEE FUNDS REQUIRED PUBLIC MEETING HELD At a public meeting held last evening, it was unanimously decided to * take immediate steps for. the establishment of a school dental clinic in Rotorua and, general and executive committees were elected to undertake the raising ofi funds and to carry out other -necessary arr'angements. In order to further facilitate the matter, it was decided to take steps to obtain guaranees for the necessary sum so that the Department may be. assured that the matter -is being pusned 'forward. ^ The local committee will be asked to raise one third of the cost of ereeting and furnishing the clinic and altogether, . it is estimated that a sum of approximately .£150 will have to be raised in-. the district, before the ■ Department will proceed. As intimated by the Department ofiicer (Mr.R. D. Filiott) who visited Rotorua to outline jthe necessary steps for the establishment of a clinic, the Department has offered the services of a dental nurse to this district and is prepared to provide clinic facilities providing that the necessary local contribution i^ forthcoming. The Mayor, Mr. T. Jackson "presided, and briefly outlined the purpose of the meeting. The Rotorua Primary School Committee, he said, had been agitating for the establishment of a clinic for some years past * and all credit was due to them for their work in this direction. Great Value "We are all agreed upon the necessity- for a clinic and it does not need any words of mine to emphasise the; great value of the establishment of such a clinie, to Rotorua," said Mr. Jackson. "There are, of course, certain difficulties in the way, but I do not think that any of them are unsurmountable. It is in the hands of this meeting to decide whether the Department's offer should be aecepted. Personally I do not think we should leave any stone unturned to take advantage of it. I have not the slightest doubt, if the matter is tackied in the .right way, that the public of. Rotorua will respond." The chairman of the Rotorua Primary School Committee, Mr. C. A.Clarlce, outlined the necessary steps for the establishment of the clinic and emphasised some of the points stressed by Mr. Elliott in his address. The initial cost of an "A" type clinic, so „far as local contribution was eoncerned, would be £120, but in addition to that there would be an annual charge of £30 for each nurse, and annual maintenance to be provided for. Schools -'which were not receiving treatment -woulcl not be expected to contributa to the cost of the elinic's work, but'as they would be receiving an eventual benefif when. treatment was extended to_ them, they would beasked to contribute ■ to' the cost of erecting and furnishing the clinie. | Question of Levy j The local committee would be empo'wered to imp.ose a levy not exceeding 5/- on each child receiving treatment each year, in order to offset the charges which it was required to meet, but personally, he hoped that thislevy could be avoided. He considered it would be preferable to find the money without the "levy if it could be managed. - - Time was limited, Mr. Clarke pointed out, and if the offer was not ac- ! cepted in a reasonable time, it wouldJ probably be withdrawn. It was foiv | them to decide whether they could j see their way clear to go on with j the matter; if they decided to do so, ! the first step was to f orm a committee ! to carry on. Excellent Results j Mr. B. M. Green then moved that j a committee to go on with the es- | tablishment of the clinic should be j set up. In doing so, he said that in | his experience he had been attached to two schools with dental clinic treatment, and he had been deeply impressed by the excellent results achieved. The cost of establishing the clinic appeared to him rOasonable and j he did not think, should present insuperable difficulties. He thought that if the public was_ appealed to, it would respond. "The motion was seconded by Mr. L. Ewert. Mr. D. M. McMillan, chairman of the Mamaku School Committee expressed the opinion that if it was proposed to confine the treatment to the Rotorua schools alone, only a "B" class clinic with one nurse would be required. If, however, the outlying districts were to be brought in, an "A" class clinic should be established. This larger clinic would have two nurses, who at their maximum would be able to treat 1200 to 1400 children — a number which would extend the scope of treatment well beyond Rotorua. So far as Mamaku was eoncerned, that district was prepared to build clinic accommodation of its own and take the nurse there. He had suggested this to the Departmental ofiicer who had outlined the seheme, and no opposition had been expressed. Mr. Clarke said he thought an "A" type clinic should certainly he their object. j ■ Mr. Jackson said that the soonerthe. clinie was estahlished, the sooner the country distr-icts would be brought* in. - - ( Rofation of Treatment Mr. Elliott had made it perfectly clear, stated Mr. Green, that it would be five years before the full capacity of an "A" class clinic would be reached. After the base school; treatment had been'initiated, it would then be in the hands of the clinie, committee to decide the rotation inwhich the other schools were to be brought in.' A question was asked as to whether, - if a child in a standard class required** dental treatment, it would be preclud-. ed under the Departmental regula-,. tions which stated that when treat- ' ment cdmmeneed in the school only the primer classes* could receive atten- - tion. Mr. Green explained that the Department stipulated that when a clinic was estahlished, treatment during the first year could only he extended to the first three primer classes. Once these primer children were