CONSUMPTION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXIII, Issue 28, 30 May 1912, Page 5

CONSUMPTION.

SPEECH BY DR. VALINTINE. (Pei Press Association.) Dunedin, May 29. At a ceremony to-day in connection with the opening of the balconies at the Dunedin'hospital for the benefit of chronic consumptives, tine chairman of the Hospital Board (Mr J. 11. Walker) mentioned that the total cost of about £I9OO bad been met by public subscriptions, collected by the Hospital Saturday Association, assisted by a Government subsidy. Dr. Valinline said that the provision now made for those chronic cases was only a temporary measure, and as soon as the Board had funds, a separate ward for treatment of advanced cases would he erected. He also said that at the recent conference on tho Local Government Bill it was stated that the Department bad not gone as far as it might have gone, in the way of affording facilities for consumptive patients. It was urged that the campaign which had been suggested by the Department, and which bad been adopted by the hoards, bad not been pressed on with sufficient vigor, but nevertheless he maintained that a great deal had been done with regard to The treatment of this particularly unfortunate class of cases, during the last ten years, and although it was early yet to say that those efforts had brought about any tangible result, be was glad to be able to cay that the death rate from .consumption and tubercular disease generally had materially decreased during the last decade. Some boards had not taken up the campaign against consumption with that vigour which the Department had hoped they would take it up. That could not, however, be said of the Otago .Hoard, which had established quite a modern sanitarium at Palmerston for the treatment of the disease in its early stages. It was to be regretted that the Board did not get those cases early enough to he able to bold out to patients the best; possible /n&Jnlts, but it must bo admitted that tho sanitarium was doing exceedingly good work. It was certainly very much to be regretted that they .could, not get these eases earlier. If they could; they could give a patient much more hope of being permanently cured.