COMMUNITY HOSPITALS

Taranaki Daily News, 11 April 1928, Page 9

COMMUNITY HOSPITALS

PROPOSALS FOR DOMINION

IMREE TREATMENT FOR THE POOR. , / SPECIAL WARDS FOR WEALTHY. Auckland, April 9. Representation® are to be made to the Minister of Public Health advocating on behalf of New Zealand surgeons the reconstitution of th© hospital system upon the “community” basis, which will incorporate tire existing system of free medical attention with a scheme of special wards for paying patients. Under the proposed plan, patients who pay for their medical attention will have the right to select th© doctor of their choice. Sir Louis Barnett, of Dunedin, Chairman of the New Zealand delegation to the first congress of Australian and New Zealand 'College of 'Surgeon®, at Canberra, who returned by the Aorangi, and Sir Donald MeGavin, who also attended the congress, have been commissioned to seek an interview in Wellington with the Minister (Hon. J. A. Young) and the Director-General of Hospitals (Dr. T. H. A. Valintine), to discusß with them the recommendatione of the Canberra congress in favour of 'Community hospitals. Commenting on the nature of the recommendations to be mad© to the department, Sir Louie Barnett eaid that all who attended th© congress had 'been impressed with the arrangement of th© hospitals and their staffs in New 'South Wales and Victoria, which -compared more favourably in these respects than New Zealand, Tasmania, Queensland, or Western Australia. The feeling among surgeons was practically unanimous that New Zealand ought to subscribe to th© community hospital system, thereby providing more adequately than they did to-day for all -classes in the community, and at th© same time make the large number of smaller hospitals abounding in the country subsidiary to the -large base institutions.

. EDUCATION OF SURGEONS. The College of -Surgeons was particularly concerned with the efficient education of the rising generation of surgeons, Sir Louis Barnett continued. There was no desire to prejudice in any way the career's of general pra-cti-tionens ©t the men who for variows reasone did not see their way to become Fellows of the college, bin ■ men who bad the ambition and aputud© to become competent surgeons would, if the policy of the college were carried into effect, receive more favourable opportunities for -learning their work and enable them to undertake the highly responsible dutiee involved in the profession of surgery more confidently than was the case under the existing system in New Zealand. An important 'point related to -the selection of senior and junior ‘members of the hospital staffs. The eongrese had thought it wise to recommend hospital boards to eall in the aid of eome advisory body, whi-dh might be more competent than the average hospital board member to judge the suitability of candidates for the vacant positions. The strongly-expressed desire of the Fellows of the college was that they should be allowed to give their services to the sick poor of th© community entirely gratuitously, in accordance with the timehonoured traditions of the medical profession. “SHOULD MEET ALL PARTIES.”

This ideal could quit© well be -obtained by the organisation of hospitals on a community basis, in which those who were not in a position to pay the doctors wxyuid ‘b© treated gratuitously, while those 'belonging to the well-to-do classes would be admitted to private wards and be permitted to make their own arrangements as to -payment with the doctor of their choice. It was a system that should meet th© requirements of the public and -surgeons alike.

Considerable astonishment was expressed in Australia, eaid -Sir Lou-is Barnett, on learning that eo many hospital®, many of them large hospitals, in New Zealand had abandoned the honorary system regarding their medical staffs and had appointed stipendiary staffs instead. This wae not considered to lb© in th© best interests -of the public because at did not give the young surgeons a-chance. The only way to train men was to bring them in contact with jihe men who had already attained senior rank. If the stipendiary staff system was continued in New Zealand only one or two men in each hospital would be doing the work, and -consequently a large number of promising men would be debarred from having the opportunities which should rightly lb© given them for the public welfare.' More facilities should 'be given in all th© -larger hospitals for the education of an adequate -number of efficiently-trained surgeons to meet the full needs of the oom-munity. It was to b© hoped, Sir Louis Barnett added, that th© Public Health Department and th© hospital boards wou’M give the recommendations of the Con gross of Surgeons due consideration.

HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATION. ATTITUDE OF THE MINISTER. By Telegraph.—Frese Asooclatiwo. Wellington, Last Night. A statement concerning th© hospital system of New Zealand wae made by the Minister -of Health, the Hon. J. A. Young, to-day, when his comment was sought on a message from Auckland dealing with the result of the New Zealand delegation’s visit to the first congress of the Australian and New Zealand -College of Surgeons which recently concluded at Canberra. According to the message the -copgress passed recommendations in favour of co-mmunity hospitals, and the New Zealand delegation had been commissioned to interview the Minister -of Health and th© Director-General of Health on the subject. The Minister, in answer to a question, said he would 'be pleased to receive the delegation. Asked whether he had any comment to make -on the recommendations in the message, Mr. Young said he had nothing to say beyond this, that whatever ehangee were suggested in the hospital system of New Zealand the public could rest assured that be would set himself firmly against any movement calculated to jeopardise the care and treatment of th© sick and Injured in the public ibospitai* of the Dc-mtaicu,