DOCTORS AND PATIENTS.
[TO THE EDITOR Ow THE " SPECTATOR...]
SIR,—May I, amid all this wordy gabble of Panels (one is getting to loathe the sound and sight of the word) be per- mitted to put in a word of common sense ? Whatever the progress of medical science may be, it is personally felt by every patient, when really ill, that he must have confidence in his doctor, and that the possession of that confidence is a sense of security and peace of mind. Further, it is personally felt by every doctor that the fact that his patient has this confidence is the major factor in the patient's progress towards cure. Superstition in humanity is not dead yet, nor ever will be, and if a law enacts that a patient is to be attended by a doctor in whom he has not faith, the agitation and resentment will most certainly go very far to retard that patient's recovery—indeed, in many cases, turn the balance of life and death. The mortality returns will be interesting reading shortly, I imagine.—I am. Sir, &c., Biversdale, Ifents Road, Torquay. EIISTACE BARTON.
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