TE WAIKATO SANATORIUM SCANDAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1920, Page 3

TE WAIKATO SANATORIUM SCANDAL.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —The HinisLer ol" Health has decided to' elose To Waiknto Sanatorium, giving the following reasons for his decision:— (1) Difficulty of access and unsuitabilUy of I silo. | (2) The buildings ore out of date and would cost too much to make up-to-date. (3) The Department's officers exprcas them* selves "as rather against sanatorium treatmum." (4) The cost of running is excessive. I (1) Tiie sanatorium is about seven miles from Cambridge, approached by a. well-metalled road on which hundreds of pounds have recently been spent. The situation is central for the whole of the Auckland, Waiknto and King Country population, and is the best for its purpose. The climate is ideal—abundant sunshine, dry atmosphere, and getting all brmes ami an altitude of lfilM) feet. Then* is no other sanatorium in this half of the Island. Otaki is 380 mile* from Auckland and Waipukurau is over 40U miles. The extra item of cartage up the hill is balanced by the faei that there are about 500 acres of Umber near the top of the hill to supply fuel, and there is attached an excellent farm supplying vegetables, fruit, eggs, poultry, honey and mulUm lor the inscilution, and also good ford mr the horsfs; mid there is a quarry of good metal on iho top of the hill and an excellent supply of water. That the sanatorium is some; distance from liie town is an advantage, rather than the reverse, j for it i-j for patients nor to have too I many visitors during their treatment. (This I does not apply to advanced cases, who I should be treated in annexes to hospitals I near tholr relatives.) In short, no better situation could be found for a sanatorium for the large, growing population in the northern half of this Island.

(2) The buildings are of excellent In design. In 19111 a. large, handsome pavilion was built to accommodate 20 patients in the early stage of their treatment, when they are confined to bed. This added greatly to the comfort of the patients, and made the. nurses work much easier. In the Inst fow years all the buildings have been painted, and even this year a large contract was started for repainting, and if completed nothing would be needed to make the Institution quite sound for many years to come. So this reason for closing down also falls to the ground. (3) That the Department's officers express themselves as against sanatorium treatment Is almost too absurd for criticism. The results for the three years 1813-16 show that 51 per cent of the patients were discharged fit to make a living. Considerably more actually did return to work, but against advice, as it was thought they would broak down. Even many of these have actually been able to remain at work. This proportion is excellent when it is considered that in those years, cases in all stages wer,c accepted for treatment, though not sultnblo sanatorium cases. None was refused admission. Surely this is sufficient iustiflcatlpn for saying the Department's officers assertion Is absurd, and that it Is a scandal to cUwe down the place. In those years Hie superintendent was supported greatly by all the medical profession mi tho Dominion, wno apparently appreciated the excellent results obtained, and many hospital boards visited the institution at the invitation of the superintendent, and expressed their great pleasure with the work done and especially with (he excellent dietary of the patients and their happiness. (4) The cost of running the institution was too high for many years. Tor the three years 1909-12 tho average cost per bed was £lB5 per annual, reaching as high as £1(17 In 1911 In 1913 it was decided by Parliament to close down the institution, and this was aiready started when tho decision was reversed, and instead there was brought from London on expert who had for noma jt»rs been medical superintendent of the foremost largest and most efficiently managed hospltai for chest diseases and consumption in the world. In the three succeeding years (191310) he managed by preventing waste and l)v proper administration to steadily bring down tho cost of tho Institution, till in the year J9JG the cost was reduced to the remarkably low figure of £9l per bed per annum, ie., less than half the original eost, although in that year tho Cost of living generally, and especially of Institutions, had greatly increased this cost compared favorably with any sanatorium in the world in that year. These figures, which are from reports .presented to Parliament, show that without possibility of denial; the Institution can be run economically and efficiently, so that tho fourth reason lor closing falls to tho ground also. At the end of lfllfi the superintendent resigned his post to go to the front. If. since that time the cost of the institution has increased out of all proportion to the increased eost of living, and if since then, the medical profession do not support the institution as they did in 1913-10, then, surely, on inquiry Into Ihe causes of this should precede the closin" of such an important institution. Professional etiquette compels me to be anonymous, but I enclose my card.—Yours, Morrinsviile, August, 1920. ' '