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5 Jumuary, 1920.]

COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE.

DR. G. B. MASON, M.R.C.S., L.B.C.P., D.P.H.

2021. And for that you were allowed £30? It averaged in some Colonies more.

2022. Was it adequate?-As far as I know, it was adequate at that time.

2029. Do you think that is a desirable method of providing the drugs used in a Colony ?--No, sir; I think it is preferable for the Government to order them, because if the Crown Agents order them they order them in a large amount for all the Colonies, and they can get them much cheaper.

2024. The drugs administered in the hospitals and the surgical appliances for the hospitals would be provided by the Government, would they not?-Pro- vided by the Government.

[Continued.

2025. Not by the individual Medical Officer? No, I do not think so.

2026. Then, where were these drugs which you got used; were they used in your private practice? In the district.

2027. In your private practice? Well, what I ordered for my private practice was separate from what I ordered from the Government. You are not supposed to use Government drugs for your private practice.

2028. Did you have to do the dispensing yourself? -No, I usually employed a black dispenser in one of the districts; I employed a black dispenser in Antigua and in St. Vincent I did my own dispensing.

Chairman: Thank you for coming here.

(The Witness withdrew.) (Adjourned till Monday next, at 3 p.m.)

SEVENTH DAY. Monday, 12th January, 1920.

PRESANT:

SIR WALTER EGERTON, K.C.M.G. (Chairman). Lieutenant-Colonel Sin HARRY VERNEY,

Bt, D.S.O.

Surgeon Rear-Admiral SIR HUMPHRY D. ROLLESTON, K.C.B., M.D., F.R.C.P. Major-General SIR W. B. LEISHMAN, K.C.M.G., C.B., M.B., F.R.C.P., F.R.S., K.H.P., A.M.S.

Lieutenant-Colonel SIR JAMES KINGSTON FOWLER, K.C.V.O., C.M.G., M.D., D.Sc., F.R.C.P., R.A.M.C. (T.).

MB. T. HOOD, C.M.G., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P.

MR. A. FIDDIAN.

MR. J. E. W. FLOOD (Secretary), Dr. J. H. CONYERS, called in and examined

2029. Chairman: You are principal Medical Officer of British Guiana?-Surgeon-General they call it, Bir.

2030. What has been your Colonial Medical experi- ence? I went to the Gold Coast in 1890, British Guiana in 1892, where I still am.

2091. You have been there since 1892 P-Since 1892. 2092. When you went there what salary did the Medical Officers join at in British Guiana -£300, rising to £900.

2033. Rising automatically to £900?—Yes.

2034. That has been done away with now?—Yes. 2095. What is the present scale?-It is £300. 2036. Commencing P-Commencing at £300, there

is a probationary period of two years which always existed, and it at present goes to £600.

2087. And when a man reaches £600 what prospect has he of getting more ?-Well, of course, there is the post of Surgeon-General.

2038. He has to wait for promotion ?-He has to wait for promotion.

2039. Are there many posts better paid than £600? -Not in the Modical Service.

2040. In the Medical Service? The £600 man, of course, geta private practice; that is the great in- centive.

2041. How many medical officers are there in British Quiana, more or less P-There are 36 in the Govern- ment Service.

2042. Do most of them enjoy private practice P— Most of them.

2043. Private practice worth having ?-Varying I should say from about £200 to £600 a year.

2044. Then are there several appointments without private practice ?-The general scheme of the Service is that men come out to the Georgetown Hospital, the chief hospital, and stay on there, or at some other institution, such as a lunatic asylum, until they get moved into a district; in the districts they get privato practice. Before getting a permanent appointment in the district there are acting appointments in which, of course, they enjoy the private practice.

2045. When the permanent men are away on leave? When the men are away. In addition the man in charge of the Georgetown Hospital-that is since you have been there, Sir-and the Lunatic Asylum Hospital, and the senior appointments, are given allowances in lieu of private practice. Those allow- ances vary from £50, I think, to £300 a year. The resident surgeon at Georgetown Hospital gets £900

a year.

2046. Is your Medical Service generally contented P -No, Bir.

2047. Why; what do you think is required to make it contented-More pay.

A

2048. More pay? There have been practically no increases during the War in the Medical Service, small bonus was given to all men under £500, amount- ing in no case to more than £40. What with the increased cost of living of 100 or more than 100 per cont., naturally the men are dissatisfied, but I see in the paper that the Governor is bringing forward a scheme of increased salaries which ought to be operative from the 1st January of this year. Such a scheme, I understand, has been sanctioned by the Secretary of State. One was prepared in the absence of the Governor, but on getting back he disapproved of it and said he would bring in his own scheme, and that was to be settled at the meeting of the Combined Court, which is held towards the end of the year, and to be operative on the 1st January.

2049. And do you think it will make the Service contented P-I think so.

2050. Are there any other conditions which you think require alteration-leave and pension P-Well, with regard to leave, under the Colonial Office Regu- lations you cannbt enjoy full salary for more than three months. It makes it very difficult for a good many men, especially with the increased cost of travelling, to get any leave to the home country. The result is they lose touch with the home country; they have no opportunities of doing any post-gradu- ate work-I am talking of medical men-and they have no opportunities of recruiting their health. I

12 January, 1920.]

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE.

DR. J. II. CONYERS.

lay stress on the fact of losing touch with the home country and the recruiting of health.

2061. An officer has to pay for his passage each way on leave P-Yes.

2052. There is no assistance? There is no assist-

ance.

2053. Is there any assistance given to him when he does come on leave in carrying on his studios at home? It has never been done, but I believe there are certain provisiona; it has never been done hither- to. All work that men have done in this country- I am speaking of medical work—has been at their own expense. Most of us have put in work at Hospitals and so on at our own expense.

2054. Do you think the Government ought to assist ? -Certainly, as regards leave of absence. I think that could very well be made up to six months with full pay.

2055. In order that a man might be able to study? -Not so much as regards study; I mean in order that the men may get away more frequently than they do. 2056. That is rather from the health conditions, and to prevent their losing touch with the home country P-Yes.

2057. But what inducement do you think the Government should hold out to an officer to study to improve his qualifications?—I think he should be paid full pay while studying and all fees and expenses in connection with the study.

2058. That is under the present conditions of leave of three months with full pay?—Of three months with full pay.

2059. If the leave were increased, as you suggest, to six months, generally, then would he want extra leave in addition to that for study?—I should not imagine so.

2060. As regards pension. The pension conditions are the usual colonial?-Well, they vary

in the different Colonies. In British Guiana they have varied in my time. When I went out to British Guiana the pension scheme was 1/50 of the salary for every year of service; it is now 1/60, and appar- ently in view of the increased cost of living it should be put back to 1/50. I think in the West African Colonies it is 1/40.

2061. In British Guiana now the Medical Officer is paid less than he was ten years ago?—Yes, under this scheme; I cannot remember when it came into opera- tion, but probably about ten years ago. There have been several alterations in the scheme since I have been there.

2062. Do you think the Medical Services of the various West Indian Colonies could be assimilated and amalgamated ?—I do not think so. "Assimilated " I take to mean "made similar in every respect."

2069. Yes; so that they should be all recruited in the same way, and promoted from one Colony to another P-I do not see how it is practicable.

2064. I daresay you have some idea of the con- ditions of service in the West African Medical Staff : well, could you have a similar service for the West Indies?-I am not quite certain about the West African Colonies. What I understood was: you take

a Colony like the Gold Coast, and make the conditions of service in the Gold Coast, say, similar to those prevailing in Lagos; but the two are quite inde pendent; a man sent once to the Gold Coast would remain at the Gold Coast unless he were promoted.

2065. No; he is liable to transfer from one Colony to another; normally he would remain on the Gold Coast, but on promotion he would probably go to another Colony ?-Until he got another appointment The only Colony we have any resemblance to, I sup- pose, is Trinidad, and I do not see what advantages there would be in amalgamating Trinidad and British Guiana, especially as the Governments are not quite similar.

2066. If it were suggested, do you think that the Administrations would agree to it? You see, our Combined Court likes to talk a great deal. In

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[Continued.

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Trinidad they are not allowed to talk; I am told the Estimates were passed in a quarter of an hour; the Estimates take days in British Guiana. I do not see how we are to amalgamate with any other Colony, Sir. And that is one of the great disadvantages. Suppos- ing you had a general Colonial Medical Service the tendency would be for the Colonies that paid poorer salaries to get only men in the lower grades. The moment a man had made himself familiar with the local conditions and really become of more value to the Government, it appears to me they would move him on, and it is really a very serious thing to lose him. You never would have any senior men in a Colony; I suppose they would like to move on to the better paid Colonies where there were greater oppor- tunities of making money; they would not like to remain in a place like Demerara, which is one of the poorly paid ones.

2087. Demerara may be poorly paid but it is excep tionally good as regards private practice, is it not ?

As I say, in no case does it amount to more than £600 a year, I think.

2068. Take a place like Dominica or St. Vincent? -Yes; well, they are worse still, but compare them with the West African Colonies or Ceylon.

2009. Do you think the type of medical man you are getting now is satisfactory ?-Certainly as regards professional attainment; we have had some very dia tinguished professional men.

2070. When the maximum salary open to the medical men was reduced from £900 to £600, by whose authority was that done? That I could not say; 1 suppose it would be with the sanction of the Secre- tary of State.

2071. Chairman: It was done on the proposal of the Combined Court P-Yes, and with the sanction of the Secretary of State.

2072. Sir James Fowler: You spoke of the new scheme that the Governor brought forward, perhaps just before you left?-I am only talking from the reports I have had from the Colony.

2073. Was that more liberal than the one he re- jected or less?-I do not know; I do not know what the scheme is.

2074. How long does the voyage take from British Guiana to this country ?-I took a month to come; I came via Canada-practically a month is about the time now.

Chairman: In 1912 you could get out in 14 days, but now I think you very seldom do it much under s month.

2075. Sir James Fowler: Therefore, of the thres months' leave, is that from Colony back to Colony From the clay you leave.

2076. Two months would be expended in travelling? -Yes.

2077. Leaving only one month in this country, assuming you came here?—Yes.

2078. Chairman: What is the cost of the passage now? The Royal Mail tell me they are going to charge £42 to take me out, and I think in addition to that I shall have to pay hotel expenses in Trinidad. Going the other way round, I think it is somewhat more expensive going through Canada, but you may take it that no one will get out there under £50 probably more £50 to £56. I believe the direct line of steamers, the Scrutton Line, do it much cheaper, but you cannot get passages. The Royal Mail is the only line you can depend upon, and even they cannot tell you the date of sailing; they have put me off about a month.

2079. Sir James Fowler: Is there anything in the nature of a health station in British Quiana?-Sir Walter used to recommend the Settlement; did you not, Sir?

2080. Chairman: Well, it is very nice going up there, but I would not like to say that any place I have been to in British Guiana is a health station except in the interior, but it takes three weeks to got there? And you pass through areas infected with malaria.

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