Memorandum on first steps towards the improvement of the general medical services of the nation
1939 1939 1930s 6 pages 3 1. INTRODUCTION. (1) There are many people who desire to see in this country a whole-time salaried medical service for all purposes, and who regard direct State control of every aspect of medical practice as a feature without which no service can possibly be satisfactory. T...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
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| Language: | English English |
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London : Council of the Medical Practioners' Union
1939
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/D4E25D23-B805-49FE-B2F2-CD9DA6E7A8A2 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/F5DC0FF6-0313-4D9E-B609-61CADFA7242E |
| Summary: | 1939
1939
1930s
6 pages
3 1. INTRODUCTION. (1) There are many people who desire to see in this country a whole-time salaried medical service for all purposes, and who regard direct State control of every aspect of medical practice as a feature without which no service can possibly be satisfactory. Those who think in this manner have usually close affinities with a definite political Party, and speak of "socialising" the medical services as if the advantages of this step needed little recommendation even to those who hold different dogmas. Opposed to this group is another and larger group, at least within the profession, which regards the whole-time officer with distrust, and political control as one of the worst possible enemies of progressive medicine. This latter group is composed of individuals who derive their livelihood from the existing system, and many of them are afraid or unwilling to face changes of any sort lest they should prove to be changes for the worse. (2) It will be seen that both the general and the individualist groups are open to the criticism that they take too little account of the history of human endeavour and, in particular, of the history of government in this country. Opposed to both the above groups, and enormously more powerful than either of them, is yet another which may be termed the Politician group, and which sees in the post of Minister of Health no more than a stepping-stone to higher office, and in the medical services of the nation little else but new scope for electoral campaigns. Sooner or later there will emerge from this group some individual who will propose to extend the provision of State-aided medical service to those who do not now enjoy it. This may be done in furtherance of Party prospects, and not necessarily with an eye to finding the best service, or it may be compelled by public clamour and be rushed through by one Party lest the other should get in first. Should the extended service be proposed by a political Party, it will very likely approximate more nearly to such Party's ideal than to the needs of the community. But whatever the Party, it will have to consider such basic factors as cost, administration, and the adaptation or destruction of existing organisations. Some of these latter, e.g., the Approved Society interest, have strong vested interests which it will fear to destroy. Others, e.g., the patent medicine and newspaper interests, are so strong that any individual Member of the House of Commons, of whatever Party, will fear to offer resistance to steps which these interests indicate as desirable. (3) For these and many other reasons, and in accordance with the normal mode of law-making in this country, the next extension of medical service is almost certain to be designed to appeal to as many voters as possible, with as little disturbance of existing interests as can be managed. This means that the first steps in extension will be along the lines of the already existing panel system, i.e., it will comprise a general practitioner service with free choice of doctor, and it will be administratively responsible through its own local bodies to the Minister of Health and not under the control of the Health Officers of municipal and district councils. It is unfortunate that the health of the nation is not outside politics, but the present state of affairs seems unalterable. In these circumstances, it is little use crying for the ideals of pure altruism, or for those of unadulterated individualism, and we can well afford to dismiss the many puerile arguments put forward by political Parties in an attempt to discredit each other, e.g., that whole-time officers are necessarily evil in character and accomplishment or that the freedom to change one's doctor is not worth having, because in some districts one doctor only is available. It would be better for those whose primary and all-compelling interest is in the one thing that matters (namely, the provision of an adequate national service for all) to combine at least to prevent blunders being made in health matters. The Medical Practitioners' Union accordingly sets out certain advances which it thinks are now possible, or are likely to be possible in the near future, and which will bring us nearer our ideals without prejudicing or limiting further advances at a more distant date. (4) In so doing the Medical Practitioners' Union does not pretend to leave out of account the economic interests of general practitioners and will at all costs do its best to protect these in whatever form the service may emerge. At the same time, the Union wishes to make it abundantly clear at the outset, that the amount and method of remuneration of practitioners are professional problems which cannot possibly affect the choice of what steps may be best to take towards a complete health service for the nation. There should be no form of advance proposed by any Party which threatens the legitimate claims of the profession to adequate remuneration, and such security as a pension system and better working conditions can alone provide.
36/H24/38 |
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| Physical Description: | TEXT |