PUBLIC HEALTH.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 September 1920, Page 5

PUBLIC HEALTH.

PROPOSALS IN NEW BILL I A CONTROLLING BOARD. (By Wire.—Parliamentary Reporter.) Wellington, Last Night. The Public Health Amendment Bill, Which was introduced in the House today, is llrgely a consolidating measure, but it contains some important new clauses. J It creates a Board of Public Health, which is to exercise the very Wide powers at present possessed by the Chief Health Officer. It proposes, also, to give increased powers and responsibili-; ties to local bodies in public health matters. The Bill was read a second- time pro forma, and referred to the Public Health Committee, which will give persons interested an opportunity to be heard before the Bill returns to the House. When the Bill was introduced, Mr. Luke (Wellington North) asked for an assurance that the new Board would not conflict with the duties of local bodies or hospital boards. , Mr. Hanan (Invercargill) deprecated the creation of new departments and branches. He understood that the Bill did something of this kind. The new board was to be free of Ministerial control, and that meant that • the board would be free of Parliamentary control: and of public control. His own opinion was that local bodies should be given • a larger share of administrative responsibility. CHANGE OP AUTHORITY. The Minister for Public Health (Mr. Parr) said that the new Public Health Board would absorb the existing Medical Board of Health. The Board would take over the authority possessed at' present by the Chief Health Officer. This officer, and district health officers, had extraordinarily wide powers at present, and the Government thought the powers which were necessary for the protection of public health in cases of emergency bad better be exercised by a board, rather than by individuals. The Chief Bealth Officer was in a position at present to dictate to local bodies. The new board would contain representatives of the Municipal Association and the Counties Association, and the lay element would be in the majority. The Bill increased considerably the powers possessed by local bodies in tespect of public health. The local bodies were being encouraged to do things for themselves. The Bill, added the Minister, author--1 ised the creation of several divisions : within the Public Health Department, | but they were not really new divisions at all. They existed already, and the j Bill merely regularised their positions. The division of hospitals was directed by Di\ Wylie, the division of nursing by i Miss Mac Loan, the division of hygiene by Dr. Watt, thi> division of Maori by* giene by Dr. Buck, and the division of school hygiene by Dr. Wilkie. These divisions were being given legislative sanction, but they were already at work, and their establishment was not going to involve changes of staff, POSITION OP LOCAL BODIES. Mr. Lysnar (Gisborne) said that" the Gisborne Borough Council desired that the powers of local bodies in public health matters should bo curtailed, and that the work should be taken over by the Public Health Department. The present arrangement produced conflicts of authority. Mr. Veitch (Wanganui) asked 'what would be the position of local bodies in the event of a recurrence of the influenza epidemic. Would their powers bo greater or less than in 1018? The Minister admitted that there had been a confusion of authority at the time of the epidemic. The fact was that in recent years hospital boards had been expected to look after matters of sanitation and hygiene, and the Jlflrk had not been well done. Hospital boards generally did not wish to be troubled with matters outside the care of the sick, and the Bill proposed to give that authority to local bodies in- [ stead of hospital boards. Local bodies i would be in direct contact with the Public Health' Department, which I would be prepared to supply trained in- ( spcetors on a part salary arrangement. The care of the health of the people would be one of the principal duties of I every local body. Improved provision was being made for dealing with insanitary and unwholesome buildings, and local authorities would be able to exercise direct authority in these matters. NEW BOARD'S CONSTITUTION. The Health Bill provides that the Chief Health Officer, shall become Direc-tor-General of Health. A Board of Health is to be created consisting of the Director-General of Health, a representative of the Internal Affairs Department, a medical practitioner in the service of the Government, a medical practitioner nominated by the Medical Association, a member of the Faculty of Medicine at Otago University, one representative each of the Municipal Association and the Counties Association, a civil engineer, a chairman of a hospital board, and one other person nominated by the Minister. The last five members are not to be medical practitioners. Each local bo'dy is required to promote and conserve the public health within its district, to arrange for inspection, to secure the abatement of conditions likely to be dangerous to health or likely to be offensive, and to enforce the health regulations made under the Act. A local authority may be exempted from these duties if it is unable to make adequate provision. A loeai authority must carry out any sanitary ■works ordered by the Board of Health, subject to a right of appeal to a Stipendiary Magistrate. Local authorities may serve owners, or occupiers of dwellings, with "cleansing orders," and may close insanitary premises, the owner to have the right of appeal to a Magistrate. SOME DRASTIC POWERS.'

The provision for the demolition of insanitary or dangerous buildings is more drastic than the present law. A local authority may order the demolition of premises on the certificate of a health officer, or of the surveyor, or engineer of a borough or county. The order must be- issued if the Board of Health so directs, and if the owner fails to comply with the order a Magistrate may make a demolition order, which will enable tho local authority to remove the building, and charge with tho coat. Health officers are given wide powers in relation to and notifiable disease. In AlieVise °f a >* epidemic