May Seek Inquiry Into Doctors' Allegations

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30630, 22 December 1964, Page 1

May Seek Inquiry Into Doctors ' Allegations

The chairman of the Ashburton Hospital Board (Mr M. D. McDowell) said yesterday that he would ask the board to call for a full inquiry by the Minister of Health into charges made by four doctors against the board about their conditions of work.

The four doctors resigned from the hospital visiting medical staff this year. They are Dr. W. D. McKenzie and Dr. R. T. E. Baker, visiting anaesthetists, and Dr. W. R. Lane and Dr. M. J. Otley, visiting physicians.

The resignations of Dr. Lane, Dr. Otley, and Dr. Baker become effective on December 31.

In a joint letter to the editor of “The Press,” dated December 20, the doctors said: “We have individually terminated our employment with the Ashburton Hospital Board for long-standing reasons known to the board.

“We have spoken to a group of senior doctors practising in Christchurch who believe that we have a good case for not wanting to work at the Ashburton Hospital under the present conditions.

“We are writing to doctors in other centres giving information as to the conditions under which we have been expected to work.” Mr McDowell said yesterday that he was seeking the approval of the board to call for a full inquiry by the Minister of Health into the charges made by the doctors.

“If these doctors intend to write to their colleagues in other centres, obviously with the intention of dissuading them from applying for positions at this hospital, then the ethics of this action should be investigated also,” Mr McDowell said. Mr McDowell said that the medical staffing at the hospital was adequate until the end of the year, and he hoped within the next day or so to be able to make a statement on the arrangements for staffing the hospital from January 1. To the end of this month the hospital still had the services of Dr. Lane. Dr. Otley, and Dr. Baker, Dr. Z. C.

Rutherford, a radiologist, and anaesthetic service from Christchurch. There were also three surgeons on duty —the surgeon-superintend-ent, Mr R. J. Jagose, a fulltime surgeon, Mr J. Moran, and a visiting surgeon. Dr. W. R. Ryburn.