Evening star., 1949-02-27

! lucky, for the winter 1948-9 has
been exceptionally mild and the
/ influenza epidemics which swept
France and Italy have fortunately
by-pasSed Britain.
On the whole, few serious criti-
cisms of the health scheme have
been voiced in the press or in
Parliament, although it's opponents
originally predicted that the health
services would be strangled in
cocoons of red tape.
The medical profession in Brit
ain, once it had bowed to the
inevitable and accepted the state
scheme, has co-operated we'll with
the government. BY the new year
of 1949 81 per cent of a total of
$1,000 doctors in England and
Wales had joined the scheme and
80 per cent of the 10000 dentists
and practically all the country'S
$4,000 chemists. The proportion
in Scotland has been even higher.
About 100000 people-95 per
cent of the population-have al
ready enrolled on the doctors lists.
This compares with the 100000
or so insured wage earners who
received free medical attention
before July 5.
This high figure of registered
patients indicates that the scheme
is popular with the public and that
any attempt to "desocialize" the
health services would be opposed.
Indeed. no political party would
seriously suggest this.
The per cent of the population
who have remained outside-apart
from those who are too lazy or
apathetic to obtain the simple
form-are mainly the well-to-do
or the elderly, who believe they
will get more attention if they
remain private paying patients
with their doctor.
Middle-aged hypochondriac dow
ayers, for example, naturally
dislike the idea of being treated
on a level with the working class
housewife. But there is no COM
pulsion on the dowager. II she
wishes to waste her money paying
privately for what she could other
wise get under the scheme, the act
does not stop her. There Is no
objection to private practices con-
tinuing-both general and special
ist-it is entirely for patient and
doctor to decide. The middle
income groups generally have
joined the scheme.
A recent article in the Lancet,
journal of the medical profession
in Britain, reports that Both doc
tor and patient are pleased with
their new and easier relationship" !"
Fears that the patients free
dom of choice" would be limited.
or that the old, essentially per-
sonal, relationship between doctor
and patient would be undermined.
have proved groundless.
Patient Can Change Doctor
If anything, patients now have
a wider choice of doctor. The
buying and selling of practices
which led to many abuses has been
stopped. Instead of a patient
being allowed to change his doctor
only at specified dates. after one
national insurance scheme-he
can now change whenever and as
often as he wishes, without notice.
/ The only difference is that the
doctor is now paid out OF public
funds. instead of by the patient.
A maximum of 1000 patients
has been fixed, but the number
aimed at is between 1000 and
5000 per doctor. There are more
!; than $4,000 National Health Serv-
ice doctors to look after 100000
patients-an average of about
1900 each.
For some doctors, the scheme
has meant a considerable drop in
earnings, but taking the profess
; sion as a whole, incomes have in
creased by over so per cent, COM
pared with before the war.
There have been complaints
from doctors about the time spent
, in filling forms. signing certif1-
Gates. dealing with trivial COM
plants and prescribing medicines
: and drugs which people would
/ formerly have bought at the drug
; store or gone without. But most
of this form-filling went on be-
fore, because of rationing and
!; priorities; and on the whole, the
doctors report that the public
has been sensible and that there
have not been serious abuses.
For the 20,000,000 insured peo-
pie who were already on some
doctors panel, the scheme has not
meant much change, but it has
i (See STEWART, Page C-2)