, 1891-08-01

Ihe acting VgCegOUeTn0r said, he believed
that a reorganization of the present system,
such as that proposed by the honorable 2nd
Member for Frederiksted's Country District
(Blackwood) would require an ordinance.
Another objection to his proposal was this, that
it would be difficult to find public duties to
beperformed by the doctor in the Country Dis
trict for his salary. There are no poor
in the Country district to attend to-if it is
so, as the honorable Member has said on
another occasion, that the poor in the Country
District receive medical attendance from the
Estate doctors-and no hospitals. What
should the doctor in the Country district do
for his salary?
End Member for Frederiksted's Country
District (BlackVood) said he had in his pre-
vious remarks alluded to the plan of putting
under the Doctor in the Centredistrict a por-
ton of the work now under the doctors
of each town; in that way, and also by the
attendance to Estates, the man would find am
pie occupation, and it could scarcely be said
that they would be having too far to move in,
for it would certainly not be as great distances
as those now traversed by the medical men in
practice. These men, or at least one of them
has much too much to do. The distance be-
tween Basin and West End is Is miles to
meet the outer terminuses of his district, even
once a day, in either direction, the doctor
would not require to travel more than the
quarter of that distance, and nothing at all
to be compared to the present system, where
the doctor has to be ON the extreme North Side.
when he is wanted at Kings Hill.
3rd Memb r for Frederiksted's Country
District (Hevit0 He would again admit that
there might be more public work on the hands
of the communal physician in Basin than in
West End, but then the physician i'll West End
has more to attend to privately and for Kings
Phy8ician-he believed-than any one else,
say also the Quarantine Department; to rid
him of some of the communal duties and give
another doctor a portion Of those duties and
Of the money for them. would seem to be quite
advisable from common views Of what is right
and proper. Let the total sum be divided up,
and let the other man III West End act as
Communal Physician too.
2nd Grown Member (Lemmiug) From what
he had stated when this matter was lastly
under discussion, Members could expect that
he should not be silent to day on a matter of
such great Importance as the present one,
especially when he remembers, how several
years ago a petition was brought in before the
Council, but too late to have any great in1u-
ence at the time, and containing a statement
from a number Of inhabitants of good standing
in the community, to the effect, that more
physicians were needed in the Island and that
a real want was experienced already at that
time in that direction. From what he has
since found to be the prevailing opinion
among the inhabitants and FROM all that has
been stated here in the Council, it must now
be considered as being a decided wish, here in
Christiansted at least, and no doubt also in
Frederiksted that we should get some more
physicians in the Island, not so very much
for the requirements of every day, but chiefly
when epidemics prevail. 1t is so now, that
both Doctors 60 out in the country on the
same days, and if any case Of a serious nature
requires their presence in town, they are
nowhere to be found you may search for
hours, without getting medical assistance, as no
one can tell where the doctor is to be found
round about in the country districts. When
that is the case, it IS certainly necessary that
something be done but if we are to achieve
anything the Government and the Colonial
Council must go hand in hand. AS, now, there
is a good deal of time before the present agree
ment with the physicians now employed will
expire, and this is the first time we see the
question of renewal coming before the Coun-
Gil at such an early date, he thought
that there could be no objections against
having the matter thoroughly investigat.
ed and thereby to arrive at a clear and de-
finite opinion, if it is so that more physicians
are needed which he nerSOnally believed is