سنين
1923
From the first of these opinions I differ entirely
Atur quaMA
an excession
With this second I agree to a certain extent because a medical Officer or any man in good health is able to perform a great amount of work for a certain long period of times. If the strain be continued however, the individual must break down unless he avoids the pressure by shirking the work imposed upon him.
I would respectfully urge
that no public officer should be called upon to choose between two such alternatives as these, especially
when in this case the latter should involve
apart from all other considerations suffering and even loss of life to the sick in Hospital or failure in justice in medico-legal cases before the Courts.
04
When first I took charge of the Civil Hospital and all the duties imposed before
the Superintendent I found the work excessive both absolutely and compared with that expected from any surgeon in any of the Hospitals with which I had been acquainted. The duties instead of diminishing have been increased and a longer experience has only tended to confirm me in
my
own
opinion
on this subject
which has been formed from over seven years' practical experience of the requirements of the Hong Kong Civil Hospital and as my professional qualifications are not inferior to those either
of Dr Mackinnon or D'O'Brien it is unnecessary
to look for
a reason of a difference of opinion
between us
as surgeons on this
The reason I believe to be that D'O'Brien being a private practitioner is directly interested in keeping down the number of private practitioners in Hong Kong. Hospital Staff may at any time leave the public service for private practice. D'O'Brien with every
desire to be impartial in his judgment
could hardly be expected to make such
a recommendation
as would lead to an addition
to the numbers of his possible rivals.
Mr. Mackinnon when called upon to
consider this subject had only
been in Hong-Kong four months and that in the winter, the coldest and healthiest season of the year during which time the Hospital duties are usually lightest and the surgeon likely to be best able to perform them.
In this Mackinnon had to depend to
a great extent upon the experience and opinion of his colleague and could hardly fail to receive a certain bias therefrom.
Lastly, I may add in conclusion that the Colonial Surgeon although he had verbally expressed the same views as Dr O'Brien on this subject (and presumably for the
same reasons a few months ago) yet recommended the Government to provide a second qualified medical man for the Civil Hospital and in his last annual report, he referred with satisfaction to the near prospect of there being two qualified medical men,