Maternity Benefits Begin on Monday; List Of Contracts Gazetted

Northern Advocate, 13 May 1939, Page 8

Maternity Benefits Begin on Monday; List Of Contracts Gazetted

[Special to “Northern Advocate ”] ' AUCKLAND, This Day. ; % GOVERNMENT SCHEDULE AD VERTISING THE NUMBER OF l)OCLf TORS WHO HAVE ENTERED INTO CONTRACTS WITH THE GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE SERVICE UNDER THE MATERNITY PROVISIONS OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT WAS ISSUED THIS MORNING. IT APPEARS IN ANOTHER PART OF THE “NORTHERN ADVOCATE” TODAY. ' { Only 22 private practitioners in the whole of New Zealand are listed as: haying entered into contracts. Of this number ten reside in the Auckland province, aqd three in Auckland. A little over 40 per cent of the re gistered private maternity hospitals have taken up the scheme, which be comes effective on Monday. ' Sh far as medical service is con cerned, the 22 contracting doctors are distributed over the Dominion as follows.— Whangare,i Rawene. Warkworth, Auckland (3), Ohura, Whakatane (2), Te Arar.oa, New Plymouth, Palmerston North (2), Wellington Takaka (2), Blackball, New Brighton, Methven, Herbert, Dunedin, Alexandra. Unless otherwise stated, there is one such doctor in each centre mentioned. Oyer 900 doctors are on the New Zealand medical register, and no return is' available to show how many of them regularly or occasionally do maternity work. A total of 62 registered obstetrical nurses have entered into contracts, which appear to be separate from, an d additional to, the contracts with nurses registered as proprietors of ma ternity hospitals Last year there were 3255 mater nity nurses and midwives on the active register, but as no annual practising certificate was required there was no means of finding out more about their activities.

“It has been represented to me that a considerable number of" doctors, although they approve of the terms of the contract, feel bound by the pledge to their association which they were induced to sign last year in entirely different circumstances. “Conditions have altered considerably since the pledge was signed, but these doctors feel bound by the pledge, at least up to a point, in spite of their approval of the contract. “It is to .be sincerely hoped this difficulty will be overcome by a reasonable attitude on the part of all concerned. Protection of Co-operators,

“I have further been informed that some practitioners fear that if they signed the contract in accordance with their own wishes, opinions and consciences,. they would run the risk of professional injury through deliberate non-co-operation on the part of their fellow practitioners. “From my knowledge of the medical profession, I have no hesitation in stating my belief that neither the official organisation nor any responsible section of the profession would stoop to such methods. “If, as is most unlikely, any irresponsible section or individual would be so misguided as to attempt any such retaliatory methods, then, as soon as the attention of the Government was drawn to the fact, steps would immediately be taken to combat such reprehensible action, and the full protection of the State would be extended to the practitioner against whom such methods were used. Boycott Weapon Deprecated. “The boycott weapon is dangbrous at all times, and in all the circumstances would earn the reprobation of all decent 'people if applied in any form cr under any pretext where the lives of mothers and babies are involved, and possibly in danger.”