REGISTRATION OF MASSEURS

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 251, 17 July 1920, Page 8

REGISTRATION OF MASSEURS

OPPOSITION TO BILL. A lively debate was provoked on tho second reading of the Masseurs Registration Bill, as not infrequontly happens when a. Bill is before the House affecting few people, but alfectiug thoso interested people very deeply. The Minister of Public Health (Mr. Parr), moving the second reading of tho Bill, said that it was intended to place the profession of massage on a propel basis. Massage had become an important branch of medical science, and tbft Government • considered that the registration of qualified persons of both sexes, and the restriction of tho practice of massage hy unqualified persons were desirable. Cases of faulty diagnosis mid treatment by masseurs had come under the notice of tho Department, and for that reason the Bill proposed to require medical" supervision of tho practico of massage. .. ~. Mr. L. M. Isitt (Christchurch North) snid the masseurs might mako mistakes, but so did the "qualified medical practitioners." He quoted the caso of three doctors who decided, in consultation, that a child had appendicitis, and must undergo an operation at once. the mother diagnosed measles, and provwl to be right. The Bill ought to protect the .people from quacks, but it should not restrict tho work of experienced persons who had proved their ability to eivo most beneficial treatment, although thei lacked technical qualifications. Tho Bill required that "remedial exercises" should bo given only under medical supervision, and it proposed to stop the practice of suggestive theraoeulies. Members were well aware that the people whose methods were being banned had often succeeded where doctors had failed. He would resist the proposal made in clause 10, that persons should be prohibited from undertaking for payment "the treatment of any disease or injury by massage or medical electricity, remediel exercises, or other branch of pbysio-thcropy. unless a medical practitioner has first certified that in his opinion such treatment will be beneficial or is not likely to be miuriotls." , . , ~ Mr. A. S. Malcolm al?o opposed tho more' drastic portions of the Bill. The restrictions, he said, were designed to strengthen a close corporation. Mr. Parr: Do vou think that quacks should bB allowed" to practico without restriction? > , Mr. Malcolm: It depends what you call a quack. lam satisfied there are many quacks among the registered practitioners. ~,',.,•< i Some discussion that followed indicated that many members thought the BUI went too far, and that the medical profession ought not to be further entrenened. Tho Minister, by nn interjection, gave the House to understand that he was quite willing that the Bill should go to a committee. This satisfied many of the objectors to the drastic restrictions of the Bill. It appeared thai there was a fair body of opinion against ruling out altogether the practice oi massifo except uftder the direction or by the order of a" medical practitioner, although the same members agreed that the public ought to be pro;ectc(l against charlatans. Among the members who spoke against the complete control of masseurs- by the medical profession was Dr. Newman, himself a member of tho medical profession. In his replv, the Minister said that he would readily accept the suggestion that the Bil' be referred to a committee, and earlier in the day the Public Health Committee had been setup to deal with such a Bill as this. At the same tim« be stated his belief that there were persons in the country trading on the fears and hopes of credulous sick people, and tliH Bill was aimed at these persons. On the other hand, there were persons practising massage in the country who had made such a study of their business that they were entitled to legal recognition, which (hey hnd.not at present. This Bill would give 'it to them. Ho agreed that perhaps the Bill wasmnking too strict a prohibition m proposing that •manage should not be given us treatincut except under the direction ot a medical man. He would not resist reasonable amendment of this clause. But he would not say that" diagnosis of disease should bo left'to a masseur, the Government did no', seek to do hurt to . honest people practising massage to-day. Those people, he thought, would have no difficulty in qualifying for resistration under the proposals of the Bui.. The Bill was read a 6econd time and referred to the committee.

SOLDIER EMPLOYEES IN THE STATE SERVICE. The position of returned soldiers taken into the Public Service was mentioned, in tho House yesterday by Dr. Ncwmun. He saul that there were a number of returned soldiers in tho service in Wellington who were anxious as to their position when the time came for them to be medically examined as to their filial appointment to the service, especially in respect to their qualification for superannuation. Tho .Minister of Internal Affairs (Mr. Anderson 1 ) said that he had had this matter referred to the Public Service Commissioner, and his reply was that these soldiers were asked to go through only a very easy medical examination, and that, very few of them indeed wero being turned down. Up till the present all the disabled soldiers willing to accept employment in the Public Service had been provided for. There wero some few outside of Wellington for whom it. had not been possible to find suitable employment, and these would, receive preference in tho event of suitable vacancies occurring in tho future. It so happened that most of the vacancies occurred in Wellington. The praeticu was to take all applicants for employment that could be employed on to tho temporary staff, and so soon .as they proved to bo suitable for permanent ommoyment they were taken on to tho permanent staff, first being required to undergo a vory simple medical examination. In the last list'of men employed as messengers or nightwatchuien, fiftysix men had been taken on to the staff, and tho cases of only three men had been deferred. One of theso men could not read or write, and had been rejected on-..this score. The other two had since been taken on to the staff, and the third man had been kept on the temporary staff. As to superannuation, the decision of the board had been that it would be unnecessary to mnko any special provision for returned soldiers as it had been thought at first would be necessary. He' assured tho House that roturnfd soldiers in tho Public, Service wero boing treated ns

well as it was possible to treat them in' respect of superannuation. PUBLIC TisT OFFICE Tho annual report of tho Public Trust Office, laid on tho table of tho House yesterday, states that in March 31 last there were 14,679 estates under administration, of a total value of J!20,860,G8(5, tho increase in, value for the year being £1,618,339. Tho profit earned was .£78,240, as compared with i,70,15(i for tho previous year. The balance at'credit of estates under administration now reached nearly .£12,000,000, an'increase of £1,850,000 during tho year. This figure represents a growth in less than twenty years from sess than one million. For the past four years the office has shared profits with its clients. Por tho year ended March 31 tho sum of .£38,000" has been appropriated for this purpose, making tho total appropriation under this heading to date £153,000. The passing of the Amendment Act of last year, the report states, has enabled the board to give effect to the policy of decentralisation. Tho status of nine additional offices has ticen raised. The change has rendered possible the more expeditious transaction of business, aud has been much appreciated by clients. A site for ii new building has been secured in • Customs Street Bast, Auckland. A new site has been purchased in Oxford Street, Christchurch, and the site previously held satisfactorily disposed A. In addition to the purchase of a new site at. the corner of Stout, .and Ballance Streets, Wellington," negotiations are proceeding for the acquirement of adjoining sections in order to securo space for the provision of future accommodation. Building activity in other centres is also cliromcled.

When the report was presented to the House, Mr. G. Witty asked whether something could not be "done to expedite the passage of work through the Public Trust Office. Ho mentioned enses in which the beneiiciaries of an estatehad had to wait months before receiving any of the money to which they were entitled, and this was often a serious matter to people who were left not at all well provided for on the loss of the bread-winner.

Tlio Minister, in reply, said that the Public Trust Office was out t» do everything that it could for the beneficiaries, and for those who left their business to bo done by the office. The Department had been growing very rapidly in recent years, and the office had .been reorganised thoroughly, until now the organisation would compare favourably with that of any office in the Public Service or out of it. If a specific complaint were made to him of fault in the office ho would see that attention was given to it, but at present the number of comokints was infinitesimal compared witli the number of Gome_ time ago. "There was no one more anxious or more capable to create such an organisation as would ensure that those people leaving business to be done by tho offico should have efficient service than the Public Trustee.