MEDICAL SERVICES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 27499, 20 September 1950, Page 7

MEDICAL SERVICES

Miss Howard’s Claims Contested

PA WELLINGTON, Sept. 19. Speaking in the Budget debate today; Mr W, B. Tennent (Govt, Palmerston N.) challenged the claim made by the member for Sydenham, Miss Mabel Howard, that there was always the utmost co-operation between the Labour Government and the BMA, and that the Labour Government never at any time intended to injxoduce a salaried medical service. Miss Howard might have had more co-operation than her predecessor, but, said Mr Tennent, she had mistaken for co-operation the courtesy to her sex usually extended by,the medical profession.

In 1941, when the Medical Practitioners Act was passed, one section prohibited medical men from suing for fees beyond the amount they could claim under social security. This was regarded as a deprivation of their civil rights, and it was opposed to the utmost. The Act also set up special committees of an advisory and diciplinary but they were so unco-operative that not one committee had any appointments made to it—no medical man would sit on it. There was no real co-operation until the end of last year, when the Government restored civil rights to medical men. It was not correct to say that the Labour Government never intended to introduce a salaried service, Mr Tennent added. It was proposed to do that through bursaries or the straightout introduction' of a salaried service. To introduce bursaries regardless of "■ the financial position when there was no shortage of students had'only one purpose, and that was to find qualified medical men to work for the Government.

Had Miss Howard gone through certain records, in the Health Department she would have seen that late in 1945 a salary scale for medical practitioners was actually prepared in readiness for the introduction of a salaried scheme, Mr Tennent added.