CORRESPONDENCE.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 246, 30 March 1910, Page 3

CORRESPONDENCE.

(To the Editor King Country Chronicle.) Sir, —Mr Philips, of Matiere is evidently under a misapprehension as to the extent of the district included in the Ohura. Evidently he is a stranger. For his information and the members of "his committee" it may be explained that there are two medical districts in the Ohura each receiving a subsidy from the Government. The Ohura Medical Association registered with Mangaroa as its centre and the Northern Ohura Medical Association with Otangiwai as centre. At the meeting held at Mangaroa, the report of which has so sorely upset Mr Philips, the member of the committee (Mr Robinson) did not refer to anything outside the immediate business of the meeting, i.e.: the advisability of arranging for a successor to the late medical officer. Surely Mr Philips does not suggest that because the northern Ohura settlers have to be congratulated on having secured "a skilful, well-qualified and very popular doctor," that the other portions representing three-fourths of the population should not do likewise. The business of the Ohura Medical Association is confined to using every effort to maintain a medical officer at Mangaroa, and does not in any way interfere with the actions of Mr Philips' committee. Mr Philips infers that satisfactory arrangements have been made by his committee to supply medical aid to the southern districts "cost little more than half of what it formerly cost a Matiere resident to call aid for the same distance." Possibly Mr Philips does not "know the meaning of his quotation "canards"; if he does, I can assure him it would fit in nicely here. What Mr Philips does not recognise is that with the winter come bad roads, and I will give him a problem: If a doctor is called from Matiere to atterd a patient in Mangaroa and is provided with a vehicle and good driver and has good roads, he arrives at Mangaroa (twelve miles) four hours after his services are required; how many hours late would he arrive at section 3, block ii., Lotirima road, 27 miles from Matiere; time, depths of winter? To prevent any misapprehension as to the satisfactory terms offered by the Northern Medical Association, I interviewed Mr Denison, hon. sec. to the other Association and through his courtesy I append a copy of the communication, which explains itself. As to the reduction of medical fee, that is a story of its own and will keep. Members of the Ohura Medical committee to whom I have spoken wish it to be made known that they are not antagonistic to Mr Philips* committee, rather the contrary, as the presence of two doctors in the district is proof of: their contention that the district is progressing satisfactorily.

(Copy.) Matiere, Feb. 28, 1910. Hon. Sec. Ohura Medical Association. Dear Sir, —I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter re medical attendance for your Society, necessitated by the death of Dr Rowlands. Your letter did not reach me till Saturday, the 28th, having been sent to Otangiwai by mistake, hence the delay in answering. I am directed by my committee to whom I put the matter, to ask you through y«ur committee to convey our very sincere sympathy with Mrs Rowland in her sudden and irreparable bereavement, and to ask your Association to believe that in so far as allowing Dr Collins a free hand in reduction of charges to those of your Association who may need his services, my committee are anxious to assist your members to the best of their ability. The matter of the case of midwifery . have been left with the doctor, and I would like to suggest that if the cases occur at night (and the doctor cannot be rung up owing to there being no one on the premises at night), the person requiring him

should bring a vehicle and so reduce the doctor's charge, which would at present include hire of a gig. In the return journey the doctor could take the morning coach from Mangaroa. In the cases from Tatu I would suggest the client should ring up from Mangaroa and while his horse was baited the doctor could be driven down from here and sending back his vehicle return by coach next day, after being driven back to Mangaroa. I merely mention this as saving expense to the person calling the doctor. Of course, if the destination of the doctor does not admit of a vehicle it will be necessary for the caller to bring a horse. I think you cannot do better than write direct to Dr Collins giving him mileage to your cases, state of roads and possible time consumed, and I think your member will have no cause of complaint.—l atn, etc., JOHN H. LYONS, 'Hon. Sec. Northern Ohura Medical Association.