Medical Services As Political Goal

Chronicle (Levin), 5 February 1948, Page 7

Medical Services As Political Goal

"DUNEDIN, Feb. 3/ "The public has paid and is paying very lieavily /for a service and naturally fe'els it is, entitled to get it,"said Mr. J. A. Jenkins, Dunedip, president of tie New Zealand branch of tne British Medical Association, at the inaugurai meeting of the association 'S conference tonight. ' ' This applies to both hospital, and private medical services. No one can demur at ' this, though it can/be pointed out that a 'service was sold that did not helong to the seUer and that there was a promise of hospital facilities that did not •exist, " he said. . . "The majocity of the population is " faix-minded and reasonable, but from both observation and coiiversation it is apparent that there is a section which. is suffieiently abnormal to look 0 n visits to a doc.tor as one of life's intir ests, who rejoice in a perversion oi taste that makes them demand more and still more medicine, who enforce certifieates knowihg that they can go from door to door until a complacent doctor . is reached. To retain tne •patient 's good opinion thd doctor nrust not oppose the dishonestyselfish, or dopedesirous. It can logically be said that the doctor is to biame, and he is, but in the present service the more blameworthy the medical man tbe larger his praetice . and income become. There is something very wrong in such a system. "More serious than the waste and cost," Mr. Jenians said, "is the deleterious effect on the medical man who is forced by circnmstances to be a party to what he inwardly knows to be humbug, at times borderiiig on fraud. It is humiliating to tbe extreme degree, and eventually must lead to an outlook that cbanges him from a scientist to a form-signer. "Laws have been passed that are reasonably parallel with those either in operation or hoped for by Labour Governments in many countries, ' ' Mr. Jenkins continued. "It is *no overstatement to say tbat the underlying objective is for a political goal, "In oiy discussions with the Government. in 1937 and 1938 the weaknesses • in the structure of the scheme were pointed out. Theae are the deijects of todav. It is my conviction that if our meinbranduni of December, 1937, liad been tried and. developed we wouio have had a service free of most of the present defects and abuses. "Perliaps it is not too late," Mr. Jenkins said. There was a way out of the present difficulty. Medicine and politics would never mix, irrespective of the political party or creed. - The Department of Health should cover hygiene, preventive medicine and the control of infectious diseases, but was not suited to the task of operatxng a medical service. "Whai then, " he asked, "can the G-overnmeilt do to fulfil the conditions for a really sound service? I would say appoint a permanent commission coinpletely free- of all political influence to control all hospital and health services. If the kev personnel are wiselv chosen and possessed of real authority, success should be assured. "The requirements are a coinmissioner trained in administration, impartial, broadminded, well educated, with the integrity of a judge; assisteu by a commission mad'e iip of represcntatives of all einployeid 'in ,'the work, nominated by them ahd),iip$ointed by the Gov'ernment from the liominations submitted. ' ' The second poi 11 1 would be a reorganisation of health and hospital districts, eaeli area being coutrolled by a regional committee whicli would be advisory to the commission and have supervisory powers in its own area. Hpeaking of the output of doctors under thc present svstem, Mr. Jenkins said it was probable that the Dominion was trainiug almost twice the immber of students required by the population, and there was, inoreover, but littlc in ceQtive now for graduates to go 011 to higher degrees or diplomas. "We are liviug on our eapital as far as highly trained mon are concerned, and uuless the situation is changed we sliall become a country in which all have been levelled to mediocrity. There must be no compromise with a system prede'stined to lower the standards. " Mr. Jenkins concluded: "If the Government had the courage to admit it had misjudged human nature, both as regards the publit* and the profession, and placed a small financial bArrier between the patient and doctor, patient and chemist, and patient and hospital, many of, the present abuses wouia ccase at on.ee." (