Address on the aids and hindrances to the general physician or general practitioner of medicine : delivered at the annual meeting of the Harveian Society of London, 18th January, 1883 / by William Hickman.

  • Hickman, William, 1837-1897.
Date:
1883
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Address on the aids and hindrances to the general physician or general practitioner of medicine : delivered at the annual meeting of the Harveian Society of London, 18th January, 1883 / by William Hickman. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    annum each to the medical officers for the same privileges. At Manchester up to the time of speaking, seven such Dispensaries had been established with 13,759 members, who subscribed £2,881, and paid £1,492 to their medical men; again an average of about two shillings per member. If this is all the benefit the Medical Profession is to get out of Provident Dispensaries it may surely as well do without them, the more especially as it is said by those who see most of their influence, that hey really take away the best of the artisan class, who would otherwise pay very fair fees, and that they leave much where they were the improvident class forming the bulk of the Hospital and Dispensary patients. Many other evils have resulted from the attempt at the establish- ment of universal Provident Dispensaries, and the correspondence columns of the journals are filled with complaints on the subject. I will not go into these just now but will merely express my own opinion that the present result of the increase in the number of Provident Dispensaries is that the payment received by the Profession from the artisan classes has rather diminished than increased, and that the amount of gratuitous medical attendance has increased rather than diminished. What is the cause then of this gigantic and growing evil -which threatens to pauperise the Profession in its lower branches and to denude it of its dignity in all ? I must here speak very plainly and I say I believe the cause lies entirely with the Medical Profession. The Public do not require, do not demand, never have demanded gratuitous medical services. The Philanthropic founders and supporters of the old Hospitals made provision, made very liberal provision for the remuneration of the medical staffs, they first founded their Hospitals and then sought out medical men to treat the patients, attracting them by a liberal pay and a dignified position. It never occurred to them that their charity would be so much the greater if they provided a few more beds for patients and refused to pay the men -who attended on them ; and they would as soon have thought of advertising for a butcher or baker to supply his commodities gratuitously, as for doctors to give their services for nothing. Who then is responsible for the present state of things ?