The Argus at KellyGang 9/4/1883 (6)
ROYAL COMMISSION
XXV - THE HOSPITAL
Final Report - continued
The hospital arrangements of the force are of a very unsatisfactory character. A radical reform in this particular is necessary. Dr F T West Ford, MRCS, is the medical officer, who depends for his remuneration upon the pay stopped from the men during illness, which is at the rate of 3s Id per day. This gentleman received in the first instance the appointment of surgeon to the police force, and during the early days of the goldfields that of district colonial surgeon, with charge of the watch houses, at a salary of £1,000 a year. Finding that malingering was common amongst the men when attended at their homes, Dr Ford suggested the formation of a police hospital, the patients in which should contribute 5s a day (their salary at that time was 10s a day), and for this amount they were to receive attendance, medicine, medical comforts, and everything that they required. In 1856 this office was abolished. At the time there were about 20 men under treatment in the hospital, and they were for a time left without attendance. Mr Ford thereupon wrote to the Government offering to continue his services as previously, provided that the stop-pages from the men's pay were handed to him. The authorities acquiesced in the arrangement which has ever since existed Mr. Ford derives an income of about £500 a year from this source. But the net returns are necessarily fluctuating, so that the doctor naturally considers that a fixed Government appointment at £600 a year would he preferable to the present system. Both officers and men are opposed to the principle upon which the hospital is conducted. Constables, whether married or single, when ill in the Metropolitan district are compelled to go into the police hospital. In the country districts, when capable of removal, they are brought down also, often at great inconvenience, if not hardship, to themselves and to their families. It was pointed out by several of the witnesses that in all cases where the men could not be attended to at home they might be allowed to enter the local hospital, and forward a certificate weekly as to the state of their health. It was urged that many members of the force were connected with benefit societies and it was inflicting increased hardship that they should, under all circumstance be compelled to enter the police hospital. The difficulty is said to be to provide a sufficient check against the men malingering. A medical certificate obtained promiscuously is not considered sufficient, as it is easy purchasable. On one occasion the officer in charge of the depot, recognising the objection to men suffering from illness being brought from their homes to the hospital, issued a regulation dispensing with the necessity for their removal, and arranging that the men should send in medical certificates. The result was that, after the first wet night, no less than 43 certificates were sent in, whereupon the regulation was abolished. The present arrangement, however, directly affords a premium to the medical officer to keep men in the hospital, and possibly, but for the deservedly high character of Dr Ford, a collusive understanding might easily be arrived at between a patient and his medical attendant. Bribes have been offered by men to be allowed to remain in the hospital, in order to obtain superannuation allowance, but such attempts at fraud have been invariably exposed. The weight of evidence appeared so directly opposed to the continuance of the present system that your commissioners have not hesitation in recommending the abolition of the police hospital, believing that the usual stoppages of pay during sickness will be an effectual check upon any attempt at malingering.
XXVI - THE LICENSING ACT
The enforcement of the provisions of the Licensing Act in the Metropolitan district hitherto seems in have been eminently unsatisfactory, owing not only to the unsystematic and probably at times the arbitrary, action of the police authorities, but to the alleged unworkable nature of the act itself. Without desiring to express any opinion upon this latter point, your commissioners desire to direct special attention to the evidence given by a large number of licensed victuallers (pp 263-270) by the police generally, and more particularly (p 391) to the valuable suggestions submitted by Mr Call, PM, chairman of the City Licensing Bench
, .1. , .2. , .3. , .4. , .5. , .6. , .7. ,
| ! | The text has been retyped from a microfiche copy of the original. We have taken care to reproduce this document but areas of the original text may been damaged. |
