Doctors: No evidence yet

Press, 5 October 1977, Page 3

Doctors: No evidence yet

Dr G. R. Gordon, chairman of the council of the New Zealand Medical Association, said yesterday: “The Medical Association is concerned that on a number of occasions recently there have been attacks on the integrity of the medical profession but so far no evidence has been produced which would enable disciplinary action to be taken against doctors who may be bucking the system. “I share Sir Arnold’s conkern that there may .be a ; small number of doctors i >

who issue medical certificates either without taking into account the nature of the person’s employment, without making an adequate examination or in extreme circumstances as a way of making easy money.” Commenting on suggestions in the report that only certificates from approved doctors should be acceptable if the ' medical profession did not put its house in order. Dr Gordon repeated that it was pointless for the employers or the Accident Compensation Commission to. criticise thei

profession in this way if i they were not prepared to 1 lay complaints. i “We are waiting and. have < been waiting for some time for complaints to be made,” 1 Dr Gordon said. “The A.C.C., ; the employers and the i unions must know who! these doctors are, and they! should be prepared to pro-1 vide the evidence that will enable the medical prac-l titioners’ disciplinary com- i mittee to investigate the doctors and take formal dis- 1 ciplinary action against them. “We hear from time to 1 time, that some doctors are 1

extracting funds from the Health Department by bending the rules,” said Dr Gordon. “The Medical Association has urged the department to act against the small minority of doctors who are .bringing the whole profession into disrepute but few leases have appeared either I before the profession’s disi ciplinary committees or before the courts.” Dr Gordon said he hoped that Sir Arnold’s report would result in positive action to help eliminate "compo doctors” and their kind. , j