REVIEW ESSENTIAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26582, 3 October 1947, Page 6

REVIEW ESSENTIAL

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICES OPINION OF DR G. D. ROBB “Although students of sociology from abroad have come to study New Zealand’s health services, little is done locally. Even within the professions immediately concerned I see little evidence of any serious effort to arrive at the right answers in the public interest,” says Dr Douglas Robb, author of “ Medicine and Health in New Zealand,” in an article in Digest, which is published annually by the Otago Medical Students’ Association. “The New Zealand achievement to date has both good and bad features,” Dr Robb says. “The early impulse of the Labour Government was humanitarian in inspiration, though doubtless not without its politically relevant aspects. It has resulted in the apparent acceptance to date, by the whole community, of the idea of health services nationally planned, and paid for by a special tax. This conception now seems to be of almost world-wide application, and New Zealand was an early practitioner of it, thereby living up to her earlier Seddonian reputation for ‘advanced’ social legislation. “At an early stage a deadlock occurred between the Government and the heads of the organised medical profession,” Dr Robb continued, " and steps were taken precipitately and inadvisably for what we can only assume were reasons of political expediency. To this day—nearly 10 years after the first enactments ol Social Security-'- we have had no technically competent survey oi the issues involved, nor social guidance as to what actually should be done. “A realistic estimate of the number and kinds of doctors required to servethe New Zealand people must be made.” Plans for the selection and training of adequate numbers of each kind, together with methods for keeping them up to date and efficient in their work, should follow. In times of rapidly-changing circumstances the means should be provided for trial and experiment in new methods. “The health centre for general practice is widely regarded as a key pattern for the future, yet no means of carrying out a trial has been suggested or promised by those who initiated and maintain present methods of general practice. All aspects of health services must be reviewed,’ concludes Dr Robb.