ARMY CRIME AND HEALTH FILES: MISUSE DENIED

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 September 1949, Page 7

ARMY CRIME AND HEALTH FILES: MISUSE DENIED

WELLINGTON, September 1 (P A.). —“I am assured by the medical superintendent at the punedin Hospital that such a statement is entirely untrue,” said the Minister of Defence (Mr F. Jones), this evening, referring to. a report that the medi? cal case histories of returned servicemen were made available for teach-, ing purposes at the Otago Medical School. Mr Jones said he had been most concerned to read the report as the information on servicemen’s personal files was strictly confidential. Mr Jones said he thought the Dunedin Returned Services’ Association should have been sure of its facts before making such statements as were reported. In the case of the returned'serviceman who sought a publican’s licence his application to a magistrate for a certificate that he was a fit person to receive a licence was in the normal way referred to the police for a report. As was usual in the case of returned men, the applicant was asked if he would permit the police to peruse his Army file. The applicant consented but before the police could submit their report to the magistrate the applicant withdrew his application. In any case the information obtained from' official records need not necessarily affect a magistrate’s decision. Medical Histories Mr Jones said the Returned Services’ Association was well aware that former servicemen’s medical histories were forwarded to the War Pensions Branch by the service departments. If- a war pensioner was being treated in hospital for his pensionable disability the medical superintendent might be supplied confidentially with a full medical history. This was necessary for the best diagnosis and treatment. Medical practitioners were at times asked for a confidential report to the Secretary for War Pensions on the condition of former servicemen. In such cases the medical examiner was supplied with a complete medical history and sometimes with a precis of a man’s war service to assist him in compiling his report. All forms were marked confidential and the confidential nature of this information was emphasised in a booklet of instructions issued to medical examiners. All papers were returned to the Pensions Department for safe keeping. Written Consent Mr Jones said there were also instances of an R.S.A. officer’s acting as an advocate for servicemen in pensions appeal cases. It was often necessary for the advocate to have a man’s medical history. This was supplied by the War Pensions Branch, only on the written consent of the man concerned. Mr Jones said it was interesting that on request the R.S.A. had been supplied by the service departments with information on returned men's files. This related only to the names of men returned from overseas under sentence and committed to civil prison and the names of men whose service record should be considered before admission to the R.S.A. The details Were supplied only with the serviceman’s consent.