CO129-389 - Governor Sir Lugard Acting Governor Claud Severn - 1912 [3-4] — Page 105

who are not in the Medical Department or under the orders of the Principal Civil Medical Officer while the duties of Health Officer of the Port including inspection of ships and enigrants is per- -formed by a firm of private Practitioners, the head of whom

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(Dr. G. P. Jordan) is a Government Officer with private practice". Dr. Jordan (with his assistants) performs these arduous duties to

my entire satisfaction, and the system is an economical one for

Government while no substitute has to be found when the Health

Officer of the Port is on leave. The system by which the Medical

Officer of Health and his assistant are placed in the Sanitary

Department and wholly detached from the Medical Department is one

which was recommended by the Medical Commission which sat in 1895,

and I have no reason for disturbing it.

4.

In these circumstances there hardly appears to

be occasion for a separate highly paid Principal Civil Medical

Officer. I observe that the recommendation made by the Medical

Commission of 1895 was that the Principal Civil Medical Officer

should be in charge of the Government Civil Hospital and Mr. J.

Chamberlain in his Despatch No. 77 of 12th. April, 1897, approved

of the creation of the post of Principal Civil Medical Officer on

the condition that "he should continue to be responsible for the

medical charge of the Government Civil Hospital".

5.

When Dr. Atkinson succeeded Dr. P. B. C. Ayres

in the appointment his salary was 84,800 with either free quarters or a house allowance of 81,080, and I understand that this was raised to £1,000 per annum when the Principal Civil Medical Officer was appointed to be President of the Sanitary Board. He has, however, since been relieved of these duties, which were at no time very onerous. Meanwhile as there was insufficient work for him to do he was put in charge of the Victoria Hospital and given a house at a monthly rental of 890 the annual actual rental value of which is I am informed estimated at $150 a month. The charge is a small one since there are not more than some 340 patients in the year. The post is therefore in my opinion in any

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case