T. B. QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 20, 30 July 1920, Page 14

T. B. QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

Mr McCombs (Lyttelton), asked the Minister in charge of the discharged soldiers' settlement department whether the Government proposed to give effect to the followjng recommendations made by the T.B. Confer.ence held at the e:id of May : 1. — That where a specialist certi&s a man as incurable he shall be granted a full pension for life. 2. — That the specialist's recommendation ro pension be adhered to. 3. — That all T.B. men, on being discharged from sanatoria, receive a f oil and supplementary pension for a period of 12 months, and that they be reviewed for pension annually. Reply.— The Idon. Mr Coatea, Minister of Defence, replied : — That these three questions regarding pensions would have attention when the programme of pension legislation for the comirvg session was being considered. 4. — That all men having beeri estahlished as T.B. shall at any time during their lives be entitled to re-admission to sanatorium, in the event of a rocurrence of the disease, and that they shall automatically become entitled to all the benefits contained therein, free of charge, and, further, that a full pension shall operate from the date of reelassification. Reply. — The tion. Mr Coates replied, that the Defence Department accepted liability for the treatment of disabilities d"o to or aggravated by war services, without any limitation of the time after that service at which the disability may arise. 5. — -That the Government be asked to appoint four T.B. men to the after-care branch, one to each centre, and that a T.B man of sanatorium experienee be appointed to supervise the work of the after-care branch. Reply. — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, that, the duties of the after-care officers entailed a good deal of travelling over bad roads and in all weathers and it was not considered that a T.B. man could do the work withont impairing his health. This view had been advanced and supported by the medical profession. Two ex-T.B. men, had, however, been appointed to the aftercare branch. One was looking after the men's interests and welfare at tlie Tauherenikau trainui g farm, and the other who was attached to liead office, would visit the T.B. men wherever they were located. If it was found necessary, and should the present T.B. man be successfui as an after-care officer, another T.B. man would be appointed. The after-care branch attends to the requirements of all disabled men, no matter what their disabilities, and therefore, the officer in charge needs a verv wide experienee of all matters pertaining to trainir.g and em. ployment. Moreover, this position entailed a good deal of office work, and it would not be in the best interests of a T.B. man from a health standard to confine him to indoor duties. 6- — That the Commissioner of Crown Lands in conjunction with the Repatriation Department shall provide an acreage suitab1© to the applicant and approved by the chest specialist, and that a suitable home he erected theneon. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, that every consideration would be given «y the Land Boards of the respeetive districts to provide suitable land for any T.B. discharged soldiers, who might apply to them. Commencement had already been made for providing areas in the Canterbury district. 7 —That no cessation of finan-cial or land grants under the D.S.S. Act shall be applicable to T.B. men. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, that the continuing of advances under the D.S.S. Act to all eligible applicants would receive the early attention of Parliament. 8. — That in the event of a recurrence of a man s trouble, after having been success. fully repatriated it should be an obligatio i on the Repatriation Department to provide a competent substitute for the purpose of carrying on that man's business while detained in a sanatorium. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, th'io the question of carrying on the busiines? of a solaier whose health broke down was one of the problems which the Department realised from the commencement. However, the problem was not peculiar to T.B. men but applied to all serious!y disabled soldiers, and whilst the business memhers of our various boards and committees were always ready to assist the soldier with the best of advice and the staff of the Department always available to keep the soldiers' books, etc., it would obviously be impossiblo for the Department to keep on hand, men capable oi running the varied businesses which soldiers engage in, namely, engineers, watch. makers, farmers, fishermen, etc. The Department would of course be pleased to make every effort to secure a suitable man to manage the business whilst the soldier was undergoing further medical treatment and as far as farming is concerned would no doubt be able to secur© a suitable sub-

stitute and supervise his work, but could not guarantee to run the business so successfully that there would be no loss. 9 — That where it is shown that a business has not been satisfactorily conducted while the owner is undergoing further treatment in the sanatorium, a rejduition or remission of interest he made : commensurate with the loss incurred. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, j that in this connection, it should he noted that the Department gave such men the utr;ost consideration regarding the postponement of payment of interest and instalments, ind,eed the Repatriation Board has power under the Act to write off losses a soldier may incur through misfortune. 10.— That the Commissioner of Crown Lands should have authority to give preference to consumptive soldiers who "have undergone treatment for additional assist-. anci over and above the usual advance to enable them to employ .extra help until they are fit to carry on themselves. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Guthrie replied, that the granting of preference was a matter of each Land Board to decide, and depended on the individual circumstances of the case. Every consideration would however, be given to cndeavour to rneet the requirements of applicants. 11. — That T.B. men on being discharged from sanatoria be provided with permanently suitable shelters properly furnished with hed, beddicg, etc. Reply : — The Hon. Mr Coates replied, that. provision had been made in February, 1920, for necessary a-lterations to verandabs to render them suitable for occupation by patients suffering from pulmonaiy tuberculosis. The alterations had beeu carried out in several cases. That in the interests of the men and public health, a compulsory examination be made every six months of all discharged T.B. men by a specialist or the specialist who t-reated the case, the expenses incurred to he a charge on the ePnsion Board. Reply — The Hon. Mr Coates replied, that there was no authority for the compulsory examination of persons unless it was considered expedient in the interests of the public health, under Section 33, Public Health Act 1908. The retuxned soldier if compulsorily examined would therefore be placed under a restriction not applicable to civilians. Arrangements cculd always he made for these men to be examined if necessary by a specialist. Every encouragement and opportunity was given to those men to be examined. They were periodically examined with reference to their pensions.