30
15 December, 1919.]
COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE,
DR. A. D. P. Hodors, C.M.G.
985. Have the Medical Officers got free quarters? -Yes.
966. Can they take their wives out there with comfort? Well, yes, some stations; not all stations; some of the up-country stations are not fit for a white woman.
967. To most of the stations a Medical Officer could take his wife P-To most of them.'
968. Could children do very well, young children? --Well, that is rather a difficult question. Tho opinion I have formed all the years I was out there is, that in the better stations young children did very wall up to three or four years.
969. Up to three or four years of age?-After that they did not.
070. They required to be sent home?—Yes.
971. Do you not think it would be a good thing
if the Medical Services of the East African Colonies were amalgamated ?—I do; that is, if they were all amalgamated.
972. If they were all amalgamated together P-Yca. 978. Under one Medical Officer, one Director- General out there, or Principal Medical Officer --- Yea. Personally, as far as I have thought about it, I think that there should be a Director in each Colony.
974. There would have to be a chief man, whatever you might call him?—There would have to be a chief man of that status, whatever you call him, for the respective Colonies.
975. But the control of the whole medical adminis- tration in one man, with local heads, in each Colony ? -Yes, I think that would he a very good thing.
976. With promotion from one Colony to another? -Yes.
977. How many grades of Medical Officer would you recommend, so as to ensure promotion at reason- able intervals P-Well, I think that it would be s good thing to assimiliate it as far as possible to the West African grading.
978. The West African Medical Staff P—Yes. 979. You are familiar with that?-I am not actu- ally familiar with it.
980. You know what the grades are?-Yes, I know what the grades are. I think something of the same kind would be of great benefit to the East African Service.
981. Do you think the organisation might be carried a little further, and have one Medical Service for the whole of tropical Africa ?—I think that should be the object, but I rather think that it would better to amalgamate the Eastern Service first an a step towards that.
982. As a step towards complete amalgamation P— Yes.
983. Did you meet any of the West African men in East Africa when you were there ?—I have never had a talk with one; I did meet one for P few minutes crossing a lake once.
984. Do you think medical men in East Africa would object to being amalgamated with the Service of West Africa, and be liable to transfer to West Africa-No, I do not think they would.
985. You do not think there is a prejudice against the Service in West Africa ?—No; I think there was at one time, but I think that has died out with the improvement of the conditions of the Service.
986. The pay in West Africa is better, and the loave conditions more liberal, are they not?—Yes.
987. Do you think the leave conditions in East Africa are liberal enough to ensure a man keeping his health P-Yes, I think so. There are people who would not agree with me; some medical men, I know would not, but personally, I think, the con- ditions are sufficient in East Africa.
988. Is Uganda as healthy as British East Africa? Do not think only of the Highlands; take the whole Colony P-I think if you take the whole Colony, one It is healthy in a way, place with another, it is.
but it is more enervating, and nowhere free from malaria.
[Con'inued.
989. Ugnada is more enervating ?-If you take the whole country, of course. You can get no place like the Highlands of East Africa where you can get rest and change; the necessary change that will keep a man a good number of years out there.
990. Uganda is fairly elevated ?—It is elevated, but it is not a cool climate.
991. Have you no hill stations at all in Uganda ?—— No; there is no plateau big enough.
992. Are you familiar with the statistics of health of the European population in Uganda and British East Africa? Do you know how they compare one with the other?—I am afraid I do not.
993. The rate of invaliding; the death rate?--I am afraid I do not. I used to have the figures, more or less, but I am afraid I have forgotten.
994. Do you consider the type of Medical Officer you had in Uganda satisfactory?—Yes, quite.
995. Can the Government get enough recruits now? That I do not know, Sir.
996. When you were out thero, were all posts filled-I think so. There were vacancies during the war, but there was no difficulty before the war. 997. Have you ever thought that it might be pos- Bible to form a general Colonial Medical Service of all the tropical Colonies P-I certainly think that that is an object to be aimed at. I know there are difficulties; different conditions in different Colonies. 998. You would do it gradually; not all at once?— Well, that is the idea that I have. I think that the differences that have to be got over would be got over by combining the East African Service, as you would realise very soon the essential difficulties in combining with West Africa, and from that you would consider the amalgamation of the whole lot. Unless the amalgamation were under even conditions, it would not be any very great improvement, so far as the content of the men is concerned.
999. You know the Secretary of State has AU Advisory Board consisting largely of medical men?- Yes.
-1000. Do you think that Board is of use?-So far As my experience goes, I think it is a very great deal of use.
1001. Do you think a Director-General at home would be better upon that Board, or would it be ■ good thing to have a Director-General at home in addition to the Board -Responsible directly to whom?
1002. Well, to advise the Secretary of State as regards appointments and promotion and so on in the Medical Service of the Colony P-I would sooner he had a Council or a Committee of some sort and I should say, properly organised, it would be a very excellent thing indeed.
1008. You do not think it would interfere with the work of the Governor; entrench at all on the authority of the different Governments?—I do not think it need. It all depends on how it is organised, under what conditions the Inspector-General would work,
1004. If you had such an officer, from what source. would you appoint him; would you take the Medical Oficer from one of the Colonies, or would you take man from the higher ranks of the profession at home I should certainly take a man with colonial
myn experience.
3
1005. Sir James Fowler: Which are the stations where there is private practice in Uganda ?—I think that Kampala, Jinga and Mbale are the chief ones.
1008. Can you give me a rough idea as to what it was worth? I could not tell you, but I think it is perhaps £400 a year, the best one, £300 or £400 a year. Of course, that is a thing that is increasing. As the Colony grows the medical practice would grow. 1007. Have you seen children born there and living there up to 3 or 4 years of age?—Oh, yes.
1008. They did well, you think, up to that time?— Yes.
1009. Where were they?-At Entebbe and Kam
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