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2 February, 1920.]

COLONIAL MEDICAL SERVICES COMMITTEE.

Leaching school P-No, I did not confine them to an approved list. other it was a slip.

BIR JOHN ROSE BRADFORD, K.O.M.G.

say that; I said If I did say the

2664. Sir Harry Verney: What shout if he is paid in addition to his pay? Does that matter?—I really cannot answer that question; I do not know what the Arany did about that; I used to be on the Board which decided whether a given hospital was entitled to this privilege.

2665. Were some of them paid?-I cannot trust my memory. We used to go rather by the number of beds and the kind of staff, and those sort of ques- tions; 1 do not remember the financial question ever coming up.

2666. It would be important if a man were to get another £100 a year by going to smaller hospital which did count; he would naturally go there ?--Yes, ha might.

I

2667. Sir William Leishman: There are just a few points on this question of specialization in the Colonial Bervice that I would like to follow up. take it, in general, you approve strongly in principle of specializing in certain subjecta P-Oh, certainly.

2668. And that, once a man has specialized and proved himself a good man he is to be given an oppor- tunity of continuing in that subject for his working Service? Yes, certainly.

2669. Up to the very top in rank P--Yes, up to the top, I should say.

2670. Do you think it would be a good thing or not if such research work--we will take pathology as an

[Continued.

one particular example-were open, not only to Colony, the Colony a man goes to first, but the system of interchange might be encouraged so that he could go to another Colony ?—Yes.

2671. Do you think that would be to the benefit of the people in that Colony in general?-Certainly I do.

were

2672. If this principle of specialization adopted and fostered, do you think that would have an effect of influencing suitable men in the hospital if a career were open to them in certain lines?—Yes, I do.

2673. Do you think something of the same kind as the Director of Hygiene and Pathology in the Army might be applied to a Colonial Medical Service?-I think so; I do not know the details of that, but I know the broad outlines.

2674. With regard to a hospital appointment, tako the University College man who had gone in for the Army examination and wanted to be seconded to be a House Physician; it would not be considered in his favour his going into the Army, or against him. It would not be considered in his favour that he was going into the Colonial Medical Service, or against him; it would not be considered at all; he would be considered on his own merita?--Yes, with us, of course, it is entirely a question of a clinical examina- tion.

2675. Dr. Hood: In my own hospital it depended upon the personal equation ?-That is St. Bartholo niew's; yes.

Chairman: Thank you.

(The Witness withdrew.)

Dr. GWILYN CHARLES MONTAGUE Davies, called and examined.

2676. Chairman: You are in the Fiji Government Medical Service ?--Yes.

2677. How long have you been there?--Well, I have been in Fiji about 24 years altogether.

2678. And before that P-Before that I was in the Bolomon Islands,

2679. How long have you been in the Colonial Medical Service P-Since 1910.

2680. First in the Bolomon Islands?--First in the Solomon Islands and then in Fiji.

2681. Would you say the service in Fiji is a con- tented service?- - Unfortunately, when I left there was a certain amount of discontent in the Service.

2682. On what point?-One point was on the salary question; everybody considers the salary much too amall. Latterly there was great discontent on the appointment of a chief medical officer, and that affects the Service generally, especially for promotion to a pont like that of chief medical officer, the result being that a man, after long service nevor gets higher than a district medical officer.

7682A. Was he brought in from another Colony ?— Yor.

2683. Of course, on another occasion a man might be taken from Fiji and sent to another Colony ?- Quite so; I am only just mentioning that, because It does not give the more senior men of the Bervice a chance of promotion.

2684. What is the commencing salary in the Fiji Medical Bervice P-I think now it is £350.

2685. How does the cost of living compare with England P-Well, I do not think it is quite as high, to be candid. It is very expensive, but not us England is at the present moment. House rents are heavy there; that is an important item. In the country, medical officers get quarters, and in Buva the Chief Medical Officer, the Senior Medical Officer, and the Junior Medical Officer live in free Government quarters.

686. What opportunities are there for private practice P--Well, private practice is very scattered. In some districts it is quite good and in other districts it is practically nil. In the big sugar dis-

tricts where there are a large number of Europeana and quite a number of Indians, the private practice is fairly good, especially where there is a big mill. 2687. A sugar mill P-A sugar mill, I think. cannot speak from experience; I was not out in the country.

I

2688. Those are the appointments where you have to pay house rent, I suppose, the city districts; what you call the city districts? There is only one dis- trict where you have to pay house rent; that is in Sura, and that really only applies to une post, my post, the post I hold of Medical Officer of Health.

2689. What are you paid as Medical Officer of Health P-£500 to £600.

2690. Then you got that after five years' service, did you?—Yes, I was about four and half years in the Solomons; then I got transferred to Fiji as an ordinary district medical officer, then the post of Medical Officer of Health fall vacant and they offered it to me. The salary used to be 8450 to £550 with

• £60 house allowance, and then they included the house allowance in the salary thus making it £500 to £600, but that does not allow for the expense of keeping a house because, for a house rent, £50 is not enough.

2691. Are you a married man?—No, not at present. 2692. Do you get a free passage out and home?— No.

2693. You have to pay your passage?—You have to pay your passage; do you mean when you go on leave?

3694, Yes P-They allow you £60 at the end of 6 years.

2695. £60P-Yes,

L

2606. What does the passage cost? It costs altogether about £120; that is with stoppager.

2697. Each way?—Yes.

2698. What is the actual passage money?—The actual passage money is now somewhere about £80 odd; between £80 and £90.

2699. Where do you have to stop P-If you go via Canada you have to stop at Montreal, to wait for a boat,"

2 February, 1920.]

MINUTES OF EVIDENCE,

Dz. GWILYn Charles Montague DAVIES.

I

from

2700. You travelled CTOB

Canada ?-Yoe, travelled across Canada,

across Coming Australia you might have to stop at Sydney to wait for a boat; the service is not even now quite regular, and the boats are generally very full at the present

time.

2701. Whatever route you go you have expenses P- You have expenses.

2702. From having to stop?—Yes.

2703. How often do people come on leave as a rule from Fiji P—As a rule, those who can manage it, come every six years; that is the bachelors principally. 2704. Married men cannot usually afford it? No, it is rather an expensive business, especially if he has got any family; it is bad enough just for two. You have to go Arst-class in the train; you cannot go second or third class; on the boat it is bad enough to go second.

2705. Is promotion fairly rapid in Fiji-No, I cannot say it is very rapid; it is very slow. I mean to say, a man may get appointed to a district, which might be a very poor district as it does not make any difference to his Government salary, but as far aa private practice is concerned, he may be in a district for some years and the přivate practice is, perhaps, not worth more than £50 a year, whereas in other places private practice may vary from £200 to £300. But they are few and far between; there are very few of them.

I was

not allowed private practice because my post did not carry that, but from what men tell me out there they say that the private practice is very little. It is all right in some districts, but taking the average it is not good.

2706. When you come on leave are you given any facilities for studying; have you a system of studying in England P-No, I have not heard of any at all.

2707. Do you hold the D.P.H.P-Yes, I took the D.P.H. when I came home on leave in 1917. Then I had to pay all my own expenses.

2708. Did you get any extra leave to enable you to take it P-At the end of my leave they gave me permission to join the Army, so I was in the Army for over a year.

I WB8 over in Europe altogether, I suppose, just over two years; two years and a month. 2709. You were only back in Fiji about a year? I got back last May and I left again in November, the and of October,

2710. Have you gone through a course of tropical medicine-Yes, I went through that in 1910.

2711. Do you think it would be a good thing if the medical service with Fiji were assimilated to that of some of the other Colonies P-Do you mean amal- gamated ?

2712. Yes, more or less amalgamated, say, that transfers might be made from one to another.-Yes, 1 think personally it would be a good thing, because the men get in a sort of a groove if stationed in one place the whole time.

2713. You think the men would like to be trans- ferred P-I think so.

2714. And they would like men from other Colonies coming in P-Yes.

2716. It would have to be reciprocal P-Oh, quite, The complaint of the men out there is: they say they are so far away from England; of course, there is the expense of travelling. Another great dis advantage in being so far from England is that it is not possible for a M.O. to keep up to date in his work.

2716. How in the Fiji service recruited P Is it principally recruited by medical men from England? -Yea, as far as I know. They are mostly from England, but one M.O. was recruited from America and another in a graduate of the Malta University.

2717. Not from Australia -No, none. 2718. Have you any coloured men in the service? -Not now; we had one who was partly West Indian; We have got another

one who has just been pensioned off,

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85

[Continued.

2719. What age are the medical men in Fiji when they first join as a rule?—They are generally about 25; 25 to 28,

2720. I was speaking about the age at which Medical Officers were generally recruited now?—Yes.

2721. Do you think it would be advantageous to get them to join younger, or do you think it is better to take them as now?—I think about 25 seems to be quite young enough.

2722. Guite young enough ?—Yes

2728. There are fewer men of 28 who are willing to go abroad than men of 297-Yes, quite

2724. Looking at it from the Government point of view of getting enough candidatoar-You; younger man would be more likely to go at the salary that is offered at the present time than an older man, although I do not think that many men will go to Fiji at the salary which is now being offered.

2725. Sir James Fowler: Are there many oppor tanities for research in subjects allied to medicino in Fiji, that are not taken advantage of now?- How do you mean?

2726. Research.-In what subject; in medical aubjects P

2727. Yes. In medical subjects.-I cannot say that there are.

2728. Have you much malaria there?--None.

2729. Sir William Leishman: I thought it had been introduced recently ?-No, only cases of slight malarial attacks of people who have been in malarial countries; there is no malaria itself.

2790. Sir James Fowler: What is the predominant disease, so to speak?-The principal one is Dysentery -Yaws, Filariasis and Ankylostomiasis are fairly common a few cases of Amoebic but chiefly Bacillary. 2731. Sir William Leishman: You say 600 miles away in the Solomon Islands there is a lot of malaria? -There is a lot of malaria, yes.

2732, Sir James Fowler: Is measles common there? I have never had any measles there, to my know- ledge, since I have been there; perhaps an occasional case from a ship. They have not had any outbreaks. When they had a big attack it was disastrous.

2733. Have you read the history of that P-No, I have not.

2794. Sir Harry Verney: I hope it is not too personal, what I want to sak you about the question of leave. Did you come home on leave during 1917? -Yoa.

2785. During the war?-During the war, yes. 2736. How did you come then?-By Canada. 2737. You had to pay your own fare, which was about £120P-The cost of coming altogether was about £120.

2738. Towards that you got £80P-Yee. 2739. You were £60 out of pocket?—Yes.

2740. Then you took your D.P.H. course for which you got nothing ?-Yes, for which I received nothing towards my expenses.

2741. You served in France?-I served in Frenc 2742, Were you paid out of Army funds-No I had to pay my own passage back.

2748. In France how were you paid ?-My salary. 9744. Your salary was paid from Fiji ?-The differ- ence between my Army salary and my Fiji salary was paid by Fiji.

2745. You did not get both ?-I got my full salary; at least what was equivalent in amount to my full salary. The Army paid so much and Fiji paid the difference.

2746. And then you got your Military Cross in France? You.

2747. Then you went back to Fiji?—Yes. 2748. That cost you another £120-Yea

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