AMBULANCE CLASSES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 275, 13 August 1908, Page 6

AMBULANCE CLASSES.

QUESTION OF FEES, THE DOCTORS IN REPLY. In The Dominion yesterday, thero appeared an article setting forth tho attitude of the local branch of tho New Zealand Medical Association towards tho instruction classes held under tho auspices of tlio St. John Ambulance Association. A resolution — not unanimous—was passed to the effect that 110 member of the Association should give lectures to tho St. John Ambulance Association ill futuro except at a fee of £1 Is. per lecture. It was also stated that tho treasurer of tho St. John Arabulanco Association, Mr. W. B. Fisher, could not understand how: such a resolution came to bo passed.

In order to arrivo at the reasons which prompted tho carrying of the above resolution by tho Medical Association, a representative of Tne Dominion callcd 011 certain members of tho profession. Doctors are, by reason of the circumstances, of their calling, somewhat elusive gentlemen, but tho Pressman succeeded in cornering three of the doctors, who courteously acceded to a request for a statement as to their side of the case, but preferred not to be personally specified.

" Time to Kick." ' From the statements made to the interviewer, it would appear 'that among the younger members, of the medical profession, at all events, there is a growing impression that tho humanitarian aspects of a doctor's work are being exploited by tho public to such an extent that, to quote a remark which fell from ono of them; " it was time to kick,"' but there was a consensus of opinion that the " kick," so to speak, had been s'omewhat illplaced; in plain English; tho resolution referred to conveyed more than was actually in the minds of those who passed it. In Dissent. > • A woll-ltnown physician, who has been through tho mill himself; and speaks from ripe experience, said: —"I. was; not present at the meeting, and know nothing of tho resolution. Personally, I think it would be a mistake to charge for lectures 1 on ' First Aid 1 and 'Nursing'; it would be contradictory to the best traditions of the profession. I do not seriously think that the resolution, as published,. will commend itself to the majority of tho members of the profession in Wellington. : I myself-.havo nad 110 official notice of it; if I do receive it I shall havo grave doubts as to whether I shall consider myself bound by it. " Of course," lie went 011, "it is a different matter to charge the Government or corporate bodies for special lectures to their employees. That ought to be ai matter of private arrangement with i the doctors. In those cases, I am of opinion that the proposed fee of £1 Is. per lecture is''totally inadequate for the work. Lectures .of this sort are less easy to prepare than some might think. In my own time tho preparation of an ambulance lecture, which must; from the conditions of the occasion, be so expressed as to be within the comprehension of lay. minds, took me considerable time.".,

Corporate Bodies Should Pay. ' Another member of the profession, "who, by, tho way, dissented from tho_ motion, -,s(iid that he personally had no objection to V giving his services, gratuitously, in any lecture work under the auspices of the Ambulance Association, which had for its object the. instruction, in tho principles of first aid ancf nursing, of the ordinary class of citizen, hut he did object to. performing similar services for corporate bodies, such as tho municipalities, railway corporations, and the like, wW'wcra well enough able to pay. At present, all lectures, whether for tlio benefit of the general public or for tho special classes of,corporate bodies, were conducted under, the auspices of the' Ambulanco Association. '"There is. a growing tendency 011 the part of the public," he remarked, "to exploit-tha humanitarian aspects of our work, and'there is a general feeling among us. that it is timo we kicked. Exploited by tho Hospitals. "Practically ono-third of our work gives u! no return whatever. Tho charitable bodies, while receiving a very large amount of oui time and work free of charge, neglect;to take such precautions with regard to the financial status of their cases as will protect our 'interests. These institutions are properly intended for the treatment of the poor, and tho poor we very gladly help. But many cases admitted to. our hospitals and other charitable institutions are not bona fide cases for gratuitous treatment; they can afford to pay for private attention, and should be compelled to do so." In New South AVales, he continued, there was a provision for the payment of fees by corporate bodies for ambulance lectures to employees, and such an understanding should also obtain here. "As for the so-called covcted honour of life-membership of the St. John Ambulance Association, with its added charm or tho special distinction of being invested iwitn I tho Order of St. John of Jerusalem,. we ar« not so keen after it as people might imagine. Such distinctions have sometimes been con« fcrred on lay members, of ,the Association.' Another iloctor, whose sentiments were in accord with thoso already stated, contrasted the conditions of the medical profession with those of the legal profession, and put it to the Pressman.', whether the public had any chanco of exploring the '.humanitarian" side of tho latter calling. Hfl thought not. •

ANOTHER OPINION. A . gentleman interested in ambulanco ivorks writes as follows " Neither in our medical schools nor m our hospitals is 'first aid' specially taugbt,. and it is to. the initiative of the St. John Ambulanco Association ;that both tho public ami the medical profession aro indebted for having developed' and -taught this important department of general surgery. "Tho dutv of the ambulanco pupil ends where the doctor's commences, and , there ought to be no overlapping or clashing of duty or interests." The above two sentences are quoted from the introduction to the, official -handbook of instruction of the St. Jolm Ambulance Association, written by Dr. James Cahtlir. They form in "themselves a sufficient argument, apart from the i greater question of the good of humanity, why' members of the medical profession should be only too willing, when opportunity permits, to gratuitously assist tho noble efforts pf the St. John Ambulance Association. Up to the present they havo never demurred at. so doing, and probably a majority, were a vote .of tho whole ptofession taken, would still gladly continue their free lectures. _ Thp sccornl quoted sentence altogether .disposes of tho contention that bocausc certain public servants aro required to bo certificated ambulanco men tha doctors' business is being encroached upon— if, indeed, that was meant to bo conveyed.

Cost to Students. , So far as the charging of tho ' proposed one guifiea fee for cacti of tho' live cours« lectures is conccrncd, itg will mean that, saj in a class of 21 students, the total cost to the student for the courso will be 12s. 6d., instead of. 7s. Gd. as at present, and probably no intending student would object to paying tho extra ss. fdr, the lecture courso. But, undoubtedly, the'' increased cost may deter many from taking up "first aid," and as it is desirable that-as many as passible of tho "working" public should be proficient in "first aid," ori at least, know sufli-cic-nt of its main principles to render cfFco tual assistanco in cases of sudden sickness, or accident, any barring of the door to that knowledge is to bo deprccatcd. Still mora would it be undesirable that increased cost of instruction should result, as it probably would, in giving a distinct class mark to tho stud-outs, tints incurring . the hostility, instead of tho sympathy, of the less favoured of tho community when tlioir services wera ■'offered in street emergencies or other casual tics of a public character. It may safely bo said that this action of the Wellington Medical Association, if ijersisted in, will, as timo passes, strike a serious blow at tho work of tho St. John Association in this district. Who will suffer? Unfortunately, the un> lucky ones who in town, or country, or bush, or mino, meet .with injuries far from immediate medical aid; and-iind thetnselvos in ignorant hands, willing but hopelessly inCOIUDOtwt t ■<■ '!•