DOCTORS AND THE HOSPITAL.

Manawatu Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 1589, 15 June 1920, Page 5

DOCTORS AND THE HOSPITAL.

(To the Editor.) Sir. —The interests of the public hospital patients and of the medical profession as a whole demand a reply to Dr. Whitaker’s letter, and it is with the hope of suggesting a course of action likely to raise the discussion out of the rut of personal prejudice and pettiness into which Dr Whitaker has thrust it that I venture to write you. Leaving out the supposed causes of the success of certain practitioners, such as money, influence, and their supposed tendency to knock Dr. Whitaker’s head off—the latter presumably a euphemism for upsetting his mental balance by failing to agree with him—Dr. Whitaker seems to argue that there are two classes, the “top dog,’’ a surgeon, and the "under dog,” a physician. Such a classification, besides being essentially unsound, will surely still further confirm the signees of the letter opposing Dr. Whitaker’s scheme in their contention that no applications are likely to be forthcoming for the positions labelled “not a surgeon,” if the tag “under dog” is to be added to that label. The fact is the whole scheme is unsound. The only essentially sound scheme is to include on the hospital staff as nearly as possible all the medical men practising in the immediate district, who are prepared to accept such appointments, and leave it to the patients concerned to choose which doctor shall attend them, thus leaving the choice to those the most —very much the most —concerned. On the whole it will be found that this will lead to greater efficiency and less friction than leaving the choice to Dr. Whitaker’s committee of selectors or the Board. I believe that were a committee selected from members of the Board who are not pledged to Dr. Whitaker’s scheme to meet a committee appointed by the local branch of the 8.M.A., that a modus vivendi would easily be found, and that there would be no need to label this or that member of the staff top or bottom dog, and it might even be found that there was some use for those unfortunates, “with experience from other places,” with or without head knocking off propensities, such as the writer of this (classed No. 2 by Dr W.) is content to sign himself. —I am etc., NEUTRAL (DOG.)