TUBERCULAR CASES

Southland Times, Issue 18836, 1 June 1920, Page 6

TUBERCULAR CASES

A REPATRIATION PROBLEM. R.S.A. CONFERENCE RECOMMENDATIONS. (Per United Press Association.) • WELLINGTON, May 31. At the Returned Soldiers’ Association conference the question of tubercular patients was discussed at leng hj. Dr Boxer said he wished all T.B. men to understand that the Association had their best interests at heart. He strongly urged that "A chest sweep-up” be made. The conference decided to urge that T.B. men on being discharged from a sana'orium should be provided by the Defence Depart ment with permanently suitable shelters properly furnished with bed and bedding, etc.; that where a patient owns a house having a verandah the Defence Department defray the expense of having the verandah glassed in and furnished with bedding, e'c.; that the personnel cf all sanatoria should, where possible, be rx-T.B. men. and that, compulsory examinations be made every six months of T.B. men out-patients and dis-. charges (not for pensionst by a specialist or by specialists who (rented the man's case and that (lit- Defence Department be responsible for the transportation of patients to a specialist; that it be recommended to the D.Q.M .S. to send a chest expert through New Zealand to examine all chest cases from the N.Z.E.F. Dr Boxer stated that in approaching the T.B. question the point of making each man his own employer should not be overlooked. A man might have the greatest willingness in (he world but, sometimes on account of his disability he would not always he able to wofk as hard for an employer as he would like to do. It was decided that a® special medical committee of five be set up by the N.Z. R.S.A. to act in an advisory’ capacity to headquarters personnel to consist of three returned chest experts and two T.B. patients. It was recommended that emphasis be laid on the point mentioned by Dr Boxer. It was resolved that where medical superintendents of sanatoria recommend that treatment in Australia or elsewhere would be beneficial to T.B. patients the cost of their treatment and transportation abroad should be borne by the Government. A deputation will wait on the Prime Minister to-day to place the remits of the conference regarding T.B. cases before him.