THE WHITE PLAGUE.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 17, 8 June 1914, Page 7

THE WHITE PLAGUE.

MEANS OF PREVENTION. GOVERNMENT POLICY. PROPOSED FARM COLONIES. i Christchurch, June 8. The Hon. R. H. Rhodes, Minister of Public Health, opened the King George V Coronation Memorial Hospital, which has been erected at Cashmere Hills in connection with the consumptive sanatorium. The money for the erection of the building was contributed by the citizens of Christchurch, and received a Government subsidy. Some of the patients were removed from the Sanatorium proper yesterday so that the hospital was in occupation for this afternoon's ceremony.

| Mr Rhodes, in the course of his speech, said: "It might be opportune to review the measures that have been taken to prevent consumption in this country, and to consider how means of prevention can be organised. Those who studied the subject at all must realise that during the past ten years a great deal has been done in that direction, and I believe that I an right in saying that no other country has so large a proportion of beds available for special treatment of the disease. Besides the four principal sanatoria of the Dominion, containing some 220 beds, there are 150. beds available in the annexe attached to our general hospitals, but in a campaign of this nature tne actual buls available are of little value unless those in authority have the assistance and cooperation of an educated public, and organisation on uniform lines against the ravages oJ our common enemy.

A WORD OF CAUTION. ''The public of the Dominion have been educated so far as to the preventive measures necessary, but in connection with this I may be forgiven for adding { a word of caution, there being still too | much tendency on a part of a certain I section of the public to regard the eon- j sumptivc as a person to be avoided and j generally to be treated as a pariah of society. Nothing could be more unrea- ' aonable, nothing more cruel. The in- j fectivity of consumption, so I understand, has been very much exaggerated, I and I regret that such misunderstand- j ing on the part of the public has not j only led to a great injustice to the persons concerned, but has also militated largely against many of the ■administrative measures that are considered necessary. It has been proposed to increase i the accommodation in the sanatoria, but with the exception of two sanatoria, to wit, To Waikato and the North Canterbury, it is not proposed to make any great extension in the number -of beds. Everything point!* to the fact that it is better to have a few well equipped sanatoria with a large number of-beds, say from 150 to 200, than to have several institutions of from 30 to 40 beds, dotted over the Dominion. No sanatorium can be regarded as efficient which a resident medical officer. As regards consumptive sanatoria, therefore, the policy of the Public Health Department will be to limit rather than to extend the number of these institutions, by increasing the accomodation- in these ■institutions which are best fulfilling the purpose for which they were initiated. It is to be hoped that the hospital boards of tt'e Dominion will combine for the purpose of maintaining tihosie institutions, which are giving tlie best facilities ,for the treatment of the disease,' and not erect additional institutions which would be comparatively costly and not likely to be in the best interests of the Dominion. ■ PROPOSED FAEM COLONIES.

"I may also say that 'it is proposed to attach to our large sanatoria farm colonies for the accommodation of persons, who, though' wired of the disease, are not sufficiently well, to return to their ordinary occupations. In these farm colonies patients will be taught farm pursuits, such as poultry and bee farming, horticulture and other industries that may be carried on in the open air. There is nnu-li argument for these farm colonics being separate from the sanatoria. The opinion of experts is to be effect that it would be wise to have them in close touch with the sanatoria, so that patients can he under an amount of medical supervision. Jn one" or two cases is will necessitate .'leniiiring additional land in the neighborhood of our existing sanitoria."