MATERNITY BENEFITS

Evening Star, Issue 23324, 21 July 1939, Page 4

MATERNITY BENEFITS

AMENDMENTS TO AID PATIENTS [Per United Press Association.] • WELLINGTON, July 20. A notice is contained ■■ in to-day’s ‘ Gazette.’ of -an amendment to clausa 18 of the Maternity Benefits Regulations, deleting the : requirement that a patient, except in the. case of an emergency, should endeavour to refrain, from summoning a maternity benefits medical practitioner to visit her during the night hours or on holidays. Commenting on the amendment, tha Minister of Health (Mr I'Vaser) said the original provision was inserted fop the purpose of protecting medical practitioners from possible unreasonable demands for unnecessary, attention. Further consideration of the,matter, including consultation with the doctors engaged in the administration of tha maternity benefits, showed, that tha possibiliy of' their being ; unduly harassed was not likely to develop, while on the other hand there, wa a danger that the provision might give rise to unnecessary fears on the part of patients, who might refrain from calling a doctor when a visit was necessary.

Additional maternity benefit regulations, of which notice was given in to-day’s ‘ Gazette,’ have been made in respect of maternity cases which, owing to some actual or suspected abnormal condition cannot be " effectively cared for in a maternity hospital and have to be admitted or transferred to a medical dr surgical hospital. The former provisions with respect to the maternity benefits did not permit of the payment of maternity benefits in cases of this kind, and it is to overcome this anomaly that provision is now made enabling the payment of maternity benefits in respect of hospital treatment in these exceptional cases.