T.B. MENACE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 August 1943, Page 2

T.B. MENACE

ALLEVIATION ON NATIONAL AND DISTRICT BASIS

PRACTICAL STEPS URGED.

NEED OF EDUCATING THE PUBLIC.

The Wairarapa Hospital Board yesterday afternoon expressed an unanimous opinion that something practical should be done to alleviate the menace of; tuberculosis both on a national and on a district basis and indicated that it was prepared to share its portion of the cost.

The chairman, Mr H. H. Mawley; Miss C. McKenny, the managing secretary, Mr Norman Lee, and Drs. Parr and H. M. O’Connor will be the board’s delegates at a Tuberculosis Conference to be held at Palmerston North on September 7 and 8. Dr. Parr said it would probably be found at the conference that there was a general feeling that there was much more that should be done. The real point was the public health and the individual care of the sick, which were the concern of the Health Department and the hospital boards respectively. The Health officers were engaged on statistical work and were not doing medical work. Dr. Parr asked if the work were extended should the specialist medical officer be a Health Department officer or a board officer? He suggested that a general practitioner could well be a tuberculosis officer.

Mr J. F. Thompson said they had a great responsibility towards the treatment. of the Natives of the district suffering from T.B. Unfortunately the younger generation were affected. Mr W. B. Martin endorsed Mr Thompson’s remarks. Dr. Parr said he wanted to hear the board’s opinion regarding the use of the outpatient department for a halfday a week as a tuberculosis clinic. The public might object to that. Dr. Parr said the public wanted educating against being sc foolishly frightened of known cases and so blindly complacent of unlabelled cases: of tuberculosis. It was illogical and unsound that people should travel in a stuffy railcar or go to the pictures without a care, when the chances of infection were greater than usual.

Mr J. F. Thompson said the Minister of Health visualised a greater extension of home nursing ’ and outpatient services. The matter should not be tinkered with.

Dr. Parr pointed out that a general practitioner service operated so it was not desirable that hospitals should duplicate the service but rather that they should provide a consultant service. Miss C. McKenny said that the education of the public was important. If they took risks in crowded assemblies they should lose sight of the danger from patients in a properly conducted unit. People had gone into wards without any disadvantageous results. Mr A .B. Martin said sick people who went into the out-patient clinics objected to association with T.B. cases. Normally healthy persons would not care. The discussion then lapsed.