PERMITS LIMITED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26200, 10 July 1946, Page 6

PERMITS LIMITED

DOCTORS GOING OVERSEAS NEEDS OF OCCUPATION FORCE (From Our Parliamentary Reporter) WELLINGTON, July 9. The Government has decided that all exit, permits for medical men will be reviewed, and permission to go overseas will be limited, with certain exceptions, to medical practitioners with reasonably long service in the armed forces. This was announced to-night by the Minister of Defence, Mr F. Jones, who stated that 1 the response of medical men for service with the army in Japan had been most disappointing, and that it would be a great hardship to the medical officers now with the occupation force, some of whom were married and with long service, if they were not relieved with the rest of the troops next month. The Minister added that, although an appeal had met with little result, yet a large number of medical men, many of whom were of military age, but had had little or no military service, had applied for exit permits to go overseas for post-graduate study. Twice within recent weeks the medical authorities in Great Britain had asked that the number of medical practitioners going there should be limited, because for some time there would be a lack df accommodation and great congestion in all the universities owing to the demobilisation of large numbers of Royal Army Medical Corps officers. Mr Jones said that the health of the New Zealand troops in Japan depended upon the high standard of the medical service, and, in view of the restrictions for post-graduate study overseas, medical men, especially those who had qualified recently, were urged to apply for service with the force in Japan for a maximum period of 12 months. The terms of pay and allowances were generous, and the Government promised that on their return from Japan medical officers would be given special facilities and priority for post-graduate training overseas, including bursaries similar to those granted to the 2nd N.Z.E.F. District army officers would give full particulars, or inquiry could be made to Army Medic.al Headquarters in Wellington.