SOCIAL SECURITY

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 February 1941, Page 6

SOCIAL SECURITY

MEDICAL BENEFITS

COLLECTIVE BARGAINING ABANDONED. DOCTORS APPROACHED INDIVIDUALLY. ißy Telegraph—Press Association.l WELLINGTON. This Day. As far as the doctors in Wellington are concerned there has been no special meeting as yet to consider the position regarding the medical benefits. “The Government has given up collective bargaining and is now approaching doctors individually with a view to securing their co-operation." stated a member of the British Medical Association this morning. He added that a meeting of the council of the British Medical Association would be held on March 12 by which time the position might be clarified.

NO CHANGE IN ATTITUDE OF DOCTORS. STATEMENT BY DR. JAMIESON. "There is no change whatever in the attitude of the British Medical Association." said Dr. Jamieson, of Nelson. chairman of the national health insurance committee of the New Zealand branch of the British Medical Association when asked today if he had any .statement to make in view of the Government’s expressed intention to make the medical benefits available as from tomorrow, he said that the Government had made no further overtures to the British Medical /Association in regard to the general practitioner scheme. Asked if be had any idea as to the number of doctors who had agree to come under the scheme, he said: "I don’t know of one that will. We as an association are not. going to have anything to do with it,” He added that while he had no knwledge of individual doctors having been approached directly to co-operate in the scheme, the Government had sent out a copy of the amended regulation and a specimen of the contract card to every medical practitioner in the Dominion. He did not know of a single case of a doctor having agreed io come into the scheme.