NATIONAL HEALTH SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22484, 19 August 1938, Page 14

NATIONAL HEALTH SCHEME

——♦ AUSTRALIAN DOCTORS’ OBJECTIONS PAYMENTS TO COUNTRY PRACTITIONERS (FUSS ASSOCIATION TELKORAX.) WELLINGTON, August 18. The objection made by Australian doctors to the conditions offered to the profession under the Australian National Health Scheme were outlined in an interview to-day by Dr. W M. Ada, a member of. the Australian branch of the British Medical Association, who was a passenger to Wellington in the Awatea. Dr. Ada has relinquished a country: practice in New South Wales to travel to London for post-graduate study. A plebiscite of Australian doctors was taken to determine their attitude toward the conditions laid down m the health scheme, he said, and 94 per cent, voted against acceptance. The principal grounds for complaint were that the capitation fee of ns a patient was too low, that tile panel system would create a serious burden of extra work, thus -forcing a reduction in the standard of service offered, and that the mileage allowance and other conditions offered to country petitioners were inadequate. It was also held that no allowance was made in the scale of payment for the considerable amount of secretarial work involved for medical men under the scheme. Dr. Ada said that the mileage rate for country practitioners had been fixed at 2s a mile one way only, "Inch was not nearly sufficient because of the scattered nature of country districts. Doctors were required to spend in travelling a large amount of thne that could otherwise be used m actual medical work ?. nd ,^ e allowance of 2s a mile did notcompensate for the actual travelling expenses and loss of time. For instance, if as had frequently happened in his own practice, a journey of 80 miles was necessary to attend a calL the doctor would be away from his surgery for half a day at the very least. In view of the attitude of the medical profession the Federal Government had agreed to set up a Royal Commission to inquire into the doctors’ claims for higher remuneration and better conditions. What would eventually happen in Australia would not be known until the findings of- the commission were available. . Dr. Ada left this morning by an- for Dunedin, where he will visit relatives. He will spend three weeks touring New' Zealand before sailing for England from Auckland.