BOOK REVIEWS

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 9, 6 October 1943, Page 6

BOOK REVIEWS

Plan For A National Medical Service

“A National Health Service,” by Alice Bush, J. McMurray Cole, E. E. Fowler, Elizabeth Hughes, Howard Gaudin, Selwyn .Morris, Bruce Mackenzie and Douglas Robb (Wellington: Progressive Publishing Society). Taking as its starting point the welfare of tlie people and the progress of medicine, a group of doctors in Auckland has studied the problem of providing a full national medical service for New Zealand and presents in this book an outline of a planned system which can apply to the public welfare all the advantages of the continuing advances in medical science. The group is concerned primarily with the question from the point of view of the public and admits that some people, both doctors and. patients, will fail to adjust themselves to the necessary chance from the old ‘'individual” order. Having sketched the possibilities of a nationally-planned system of health services, the authors stress Hie responsibility of the people as a whole in achieving it. They point out some difficulties in the way—unenlightened political leadership resulting in the preservation of the essential features of an ' out-worn system with little thought to quality of service; lack of leadership from Government departments; the Health Department, while faithfully administering . the schemes already introduced, having failed to co-operate with the Government in their conception; similar failure of leadership on the part of' professional groups, particularly the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association ; and finally ignorance and apathy on the part of the public and a general unwillingness to accept collective responsibility. There is a lot to be done and little time to do it in if the present deterioration of medical services to the civilian is to be stopped before it results in permanent injury to the community. In the meantime the work of the group of doctors who have prepared this book provides an invaluable basis for the comprehensive planning and investigation still so urgently required. “Kiwi Saga,” memoirs of a New Zealand artilleryman, by Martyn Urea (Auckland: Collins). Sergeant Uren has already done well with his book in the Middle East, two editions totalling bWO copies having been published; in Cairo earlier this year. That it should have sold so well near the Scene ot the battles it describes is a recommendation that will not be lost on stay-at-home New Zealanders and actually it seems likely to repeat in the Dominion its Cairo success, lhe reason for that success will not be found in any examination of the book'as a work of literature. It was written at the front —begun at. Alamein and completed at Tripoli. Let little of the tension and excitement in the atmosphere is transferred to its pages; the writing is flat, the record, bald. The reason lies elsewhere —in the last paragraph, for instance, of the author’s preface to the New Zealand edition : “We have all shared similar experiences over there on the desert arena; in fact, my fate has been that of a fairly lucky soldier, so please accept this as the story of your husband, your son, your 'brother and your friend.” Wives, parents. brothers, sisters and friends of men of the Second N.Z.E.F. will read it and can do so knowing that the narrative in all its detail is authentic. The author, with a year’s territorial service to his credit when war broke out, went with the First Echelon to Egypt, fought m Greece, was then evacuated direct to Egypt, missing the Crete campaign, and took part in all the subsequent desert fighting. This, with a Syrian interlude and a holiday in Palestine, he describes meticulously. There is a wealth of interest in what he has to say and his book, with those of others of his comrades, will offer valuable material for the future historian. “Social Security in New Zealand, a simple guide for the people, by A. M. Finlay (Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs). Dr. Finlay in the first part of his book sets out in clear terms the provisions of the Social Security Act tvitn a full explanation of the monetary and health benefits it confers. In the second part he discusses the meaning of social security with particular reference to its aim, position in our capitalist society and financial effect, concluding with a description of its background in New Zealand, a comparison with the Beveridge plan and a discussion of the means ofinaneing the scheme. “The ‘Time and Tide’ Slap of the Atlantic Charter” (Wellington: Reed). Beneath the eight clauses of the Atlantic Charter with the signatures of President Roosevelt and Mr. Churchill is a map of the world basking in the bright sunlight cast by the charter. The map, some three feet by two, is resplendent with many colours, symbolic illustrations being used to show the products of the industries or each country. A key to these symbols is provided at the bottom of the map. the stildy of which will prove a fascinating and instructive pastime for the young and a refresher course in world geography , for their elders.