THE "BLACK-COATED POOR " : THE MENACE OF ILLNESS.
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It has been said that" the only people who can command the best medical service are the Duke and the Dustman," and if " Duke " means a rich man, and " Dustman " one of the classes privileged to use the hospitals, there is truth in the saying. For the modern methods of diagnosis and treatment no longer consist of "tongue, pulse and bottle," but are infinitely complex and costly. When the " Duke " is seriously ill he is seen in consultation by various experts ; examinations—chemical, bacteriologic and X-ray—are made for him at different laboratories, and he may be operated upon at a nursing home by a surgeon with one or two assistants and an anat. sthetist. All these advantages, and more, are at the " Dustman's " service, free of cost to himself, at a hospital, but to those people who are too poor to pay for these costly services, and of a class not eligible for admission to hospital except on sufferance, the prospect of serious illness in the family may be an ever present anxiety, and its advent a financial calamity. Although it may be impossible for these people to pay thc cost of serious illness individually, it becomes easier if they do it collectively, and the British Provident Association for Hospital and Additional Services provides a means to this end.
The Association is a self-supporting organization and not a charity. There are no dividends or directors' fees to be paid, and any profit goes to the benefit of the subscriber. Most prudent people are insured against the risk of fire, and many against burglary, but the risk of serious illness is a
very much greater one.—I am, Sir, &c., J. F. GORDON DILL. (Hon. Secretary.) 77 Cambridge Terrace, Paddington, London, W. 2.
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