A review of hospital and related services in New Zealand.

  • New Zealand. Department of Health.
Date:
1969
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A review of hospital and related services in New Zealand. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    6/196 (page 4)
    Dr Dwight Locke Wilbur, as President of the American Medical Assoc- iation, was on record recently as saying that the practice of medicine will change drastically over the next 10 to 15 years. The Royal Commission on Medical Education in Great Britain made similar comments when dealing in its Report with the future pattern of medical care“). This extract from the Report is pertinent: ‘““We have come to the conclusion that the first step in the normal sequence of medical care for the individual patient will continue to be a consultation, in the patient’s home locality, with a doctor whose interests and qualifications extend over a broad range of general medicine and who will among other things fill the role of family physician; and that this will be followed if necessary by reference to a specialist. We foresee, however, that the present organisation will undergo considerable change, and that the future pattern of and relationship between the main branches of medical practice will be very different in many respects from what it is now.” This paper has been prepared with all of the above factors very much in mind. It records the history of our New Zealand hospital and related services, summarises present facilities, indicates trends in population and provision of services, and outlines departmental policies and plans for the future. The long term consequences of adoption of these policies and plans are summarised in Appendix 1 of the paper. All this information is set forth as a basis for informed discussion by interested citizens. Con- structive comment from whatever quarter would be welcome. Our thinking on the subject of medical care may well be stimulated by consideration of these recent comments on the American scene by John T. Dunlop of Harvard University: “The paramount problem (of U.S. Medical Care) is the need for more productivity .. . brought about by structural changes in the practice and organization of medicine. Nothing could be worse than to say we need another three or five - billion dollars for medical care, and then simply duplicate or multiply the arrangements that we now have. That would get us nowhere. It is the fundamental transformation in a variety of our arrangements that I think is signaled . . . and these arrangements are required and are coming.” It will be apparent that two major objectives are sought in the proposals put forward in this paper, namely the creation of an appropriate number of viable administrative units ‘“‘at grass roots level” in the hospital and related areas, and the transfer from the Department of Health to these agencies of all non-policy and operational activities. It is my belief that we should move towards these objectives by continuing to reduce the number of Hospital Boards; by transferring to Boards our departmental hospitals, along with other appropriate health responsibilities; and by extending the range of Board functions. This country could then have pre-eminence in its hospital and related services. D. P. KENNEDY, September, 1969. Director-General of Health. “) Report of Royal Commission on Medical Education 1965-68, para. 34, H.M.S.O. 1968