Medical Ethics. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2515, 28 May 1902, Page 11

Medical Ethics. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— The resolutions () f the Medical Association with reference to the fad case in which Dr Davies was concerned have not satisfied the pres« Nothing would be more deplorable than a wordy warfare about unG:»ential point". I am certain tiiat the criticisms of the prt'jss have been impelled by- a sense of public duty. May 1 atk that the same charity be extended to the acts of the association? I understand it i-> urged that the association did not repudiate the sentiments expressed by Ur Davieri, as reported in your columns. I regret that our ■statement was not explicit. It was meant to be so, and I now give you my assurance that the association no rei-ouiate the senliirents expressed by Dr Davies. Next, the question has been asked : "In the event of any person calling in a doctor at any hour, do your association consider it right that he should be sent from door to door until such assistance is obtained 'r" No ; it is not right. But, with your permission, J will point out some of the difficulties in dealing with those cp.'cs, and what I think ought to be the remedy. The time come= in the life of every medical man when he is compelled to limit the amount of casual work which he can undertake. It becomes a pure physical impossibility that lie— a busy man approaching or passing middle age — can go on night and day. If he does attend to every impassioned appeal for help he soon finds, that his work is curtailed in other directions. The provident man who has arranged for his services beforehand is unable to get him. His own health breaks down, and his usefulness practically ceases. Note that the number of members of the community who suffer by this inability of medical men to do the impossible is not a great one. The provident of all classes make arrangements in healtb for medical attendance in sickness. Accident, cf course, may happen, and it may be impossible to obtain the needed pexviccui •£ thA riadifc f-inip^ M,edical mt\n

have always recognised this difficulty, and meet it to the best of their power. But to meet it effectively needs some organisation, such as we find in the Assistance Publique of Paris. In each arrondusement there is a public office open night and day, where the names of medical men willing to attend ca?e3 of urgency can be obtained. The Bureau makes itself responsible for the first fee. Some pucli scheme might easily be adopted here, either (as I think in Paris) by municipal enterprise, or by the State, or by private initiative. Finally, may 1 say something which may explain the attitude of the profession towards Dr Davies? We have known him, as a practitioner among us for the last 20 years. He has "always been diligent in hia profession, careful and conscientious in his work, helpful to his brother practitioners, a most loyal comrade, and has given his services freely to those who could not afford to pay for them. Further, wo know, as no layman can, that the circumstances of the message brought by Mr Marshall were such as to lead anyone to assume that the case was one of no special urgency. If it had been in Dr Stcphenson's- mind that a fatal ( result might ensue, we may fairly assume' that he would have written a note, either to the recognised specialist in that branch o£ medicine or to Some practitioner of standing and experience. He did not do so. He merely sent for the nearest doctor, the fair inference being that the case was oiio of a ■wry ordinary class, where the need of help vas present, but was not of any urgent or immediate force. Dr Davies might fairly cc noider that under those circumstances any other medical man would be more Useful to Dr Stephens-on than himself. May I add, knowing how quick some of your readers are to impute evil motives, that I am certain that no slur can be castupon Dr Stephenson's skill, and that the sudden end was one of those awful tragedies which take the most skilful and experienced men by surprise, and cannot be provided for. Under those circumstances, it is not surprising that we are not prepared to join in the outcry against p tried and trusted member of our profession because *»c has done an ill-judged thing, and said some words which are undoubtedly capable of bearing a bad construction. We prefer to judge the man by his acts rather than by his words, which he has practically withdrawn and apologised for. May I make an appeal to you and your readers that the time has come to temper justice with mercy — to leave the further criticism of Dr Davies to those men and women who have never erred — have never left the right thing undone and done the wrong, and have never said the wrong word and uttered yesterday the sentences which to-day they would give anything they posi sees not to have uttered. — I am, etc., The Phesident Bbitish Medical Asscm ciation (N. Z v Branch),,

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