THE CASE OF SALAMAN

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1930, Page 7

THE CASE OF SALAMAN

MEDICAL MAN’S OPINION.

THE TREATMENT OF PATIENTS.

An interesting statement concerning the case of Abraham Wally Mohamed Salaman, .who was recently sentenced to a term, of imprisonment on. a charge of manslaughter, has been prepared by Dr. George Hbine, New Plymouth. He asks the Daily News to publish it as follows: A great. deal of misapprehension regarding the legal aspect of the Salaman qase still exists in the minds of the general public, whose main attitude seems to be that Salaman should not have .been accused of manslaughter irithe case of a pdticht who had an illness that in the past has been usually regarded as fatal. Though it was explained carefully by both the Crown Prosecutor and the Chief Justice, the point that the public seemed to have missed, is that the boy’s death was precipitated by Salanian’s advice and by his neglect of proper treatment—lie being a man who proclaimed himself and set, himself up as capable of treating sick people, therefore inducing people to believe in him. A registered medical practitioner under similar circumstances is -equally liable. If a carpenter or a blacksmith had advised the boy’s parents to discontinue the insulin trpatinent, for instance, the legal responsibility for a disastrous result would not have been on ihe carpenter or the blacksmith, but on the invalid’s parents for being so foolish as to take advice from a person not professedly qualified to give it. But Salaman brought legal responsibility on himself because his whole or main business was the treatment (socalled) of invalids. He had not sufficient knowledge of disease processes, however, ito be able to recognise what cases he could or could not undertake without disaster lo the patient.

“DISEASE OF APPREHENSION.”

About half the sick people of the community have what might be called diseases of apprehension. They have symptoms which they interpret to themselves as manifestations of more or less serious disease, but Which are founded, merely on nervous derangements and not on actual change or damage of body structure. Brain-worry or mind-stress can and does give rise to, and then become submerged in, discomforts and pains, which are given expression to by the stomach, heart, lungs or nerves generally, often giving rise to mistaken notions of cancer or heart disease. These people get well' if they can be induced by any means into a state of brain repose—that is, if they-only believe they are doing the right thing to get well, whether the belief is established by Christian science, Salaman dr Hickson Mission, If one of these people were killed by accident and a carefill postmortem examination carried out, no recognisable deviation from the normal would be found other than the result of the accident. Even if there is some structural change or damage, in certain cases a profound nerve impression can for a time remove or obviate pain or discomfort Will almost certainly return, tooth that is aching generally loses its pain when the dentist is visited, especially when his forceps come into view, but unless something radical is done, the discomfort will certainly return. So, after a Hickson Mission exhibition, for example, relapses are painfully frequent. . . The medical profession have no quarrel with methods which will put these people right and at the same time give them satisfaction, but what the profession does resent is the frequent occurrence of really ill people being misguided past the chance of recovery. Salaman is not persecuted or ptoseciited in. any way by the medical profession, who are indifferent to him, except when they come against results of his treatment which their knowledge of disease processes enables them to recognise as disasters that might have been avoided. Some of Salaman’s failures have come to post mortem examination; many of them have been admitted into hospital, but it is always noticed that those who have been to him and have not received any benefit, are unwilling to disclose what they have been forced to realise as their mistake, » “TO EXACT THE TRUTH.” In Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A., is a connected establishment of hospitals called the Mayo clinic, to which patients from all parts of the world go for treatment, medical, surgical and special, and doctors from all parts ■ of. the world also go there for instruction in the latest developments of medical knowledge. The whoL medical and surgical staff is carefully selected and of proven ability. Every patien who enters the ■ clinic is thoroughly investigated—so that nothing shall be overlooked—by specialists in each department and by chemical, physical, and X-ray experts and apparatus, for the whole Staff are out io get the exact truth. They are anxious not to deceive their patients, and still more anxious not to deceive themselves. Each year many thousands of patients pass throrigh the Mayo set of hospitals. All these people are, or consider they are, ill enough to require the highest available medical advice. About 50 per cent, of them are found to be afflicted with nervous derangements and anxiety states without any demonstrable other damage, and- the majority of these are cured by assurance and by the satisfying impressions conveyed by the thorough examin-

ation. Many, however, are disappointed instead of being relieved that nothing seriously wrong has been found, these last being people who really “enjoy poor health.”

The findings of the Mayo Clinic are quoted partly to show how much imaginary disease exists in the community, and partly to indicate the tremendous quantity of human material that is available for exploitation by the humbug and the quack. The real danger is that the beginnings of a fatal disease may be missed until it is too late. This is especially true of malignant growths.