HEALTH OF THE MAORI.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 304, 16 May 1913, Page 5

HEALTH OF THE MAORI.

THE GOVERNMENT'S INTENTIONS. ! By Telegraph—Press Association. Christchurch, Last Night. As regards the reorganisation of the native medical service, the Hon. R. Beaton Rhodes, Minister of Public Health, said, j'h reply to an enquiry by a reporter, that this was rendered necessary by the varied terms on which medical officers were appointed by the various departments from which they received subsidies, prior to the service being handed over to the administration of the Public Health Department. The matter is still further complicated by the stipulation attached to the various trusts, .such as the Kemp Trust and the Native Tenths, from which some of the medical officers are paid. He felt sure that as a result of the reorganisation the money available for medical and nursing attendance on the.Maoris would be more equitably distributed. It was also necessary that this branch of the medical service should be «o-related with that of the hospital boards, so that the latter might be better acquainted with this important branch of the medical service, and act in co-operation therewith. To put the matter on a substantial basis had necessitated reference to old-time treaties and acts, from the Treaty of Waitangi onward, and it was hoped'that as a result of the investigations now being made by the Department many matters affecting the medical and nursing assistance to the Maoris, which had been such vexed questions to many hos pital boards, would be cleared up. In the meantime, twenty-four medical officers had been asked to continue attending the Maoris as heretofore, pending a definite agreement with the Department as to their actual responsibilities, and negotiations were in progress with others. The nurses appointed for the special work among the Maoris were, the Minister said, doing splendid service, as could be gathered from the reports from the emergency hospitals for typhoid established at Ohaeawai and Waipu. where excellent results had been obtained. In conclusion, Mr. Rhodes said .that he anticipated a great extension of this work, which would naturally involve a larger expenditure than in the past, and he had every reason to believe that those responsible for the administration of these native trusts would be ready to give the substantial assistance that was necessary to make this an efficient branch of the medical service of the Department of Public Health. '