Doctors and the War
No one will complain that the emergency measures which were taken for the hospitals and the medical profession in vulnerable areas have not been put to the test by enemy action ; but the fact remains that the dislocation and lack of employment have caused much hardship. The big London hospitals were to a large extent evacuated, beds being reserved for air-raid casualties ; most of the specialists and their consulting staffs were sent down to base hospitals in the country. There they have had little or nothing to do, and have been cut off from their private consulting practice. Also, as it has turned out, there has been no work for the young doctors who were taken on by the Ministry of Health for emergency medical service, and many who were on the house-staffs of hospitals and were enrolled in error now complain that they are told they are not eligible for pay. In the hospitals there has been some resumption of normal activities, especially in the out-patient departments, and some semi-urgent cases are taken in for investigation. Special- ists who have so far had little to do are now in some cases receiving permission to devote part time to private patients, and this is some compensation for the sacrifice of large incomes. But it must be remembered that there is much to be said for the dispersal of highly trained men who cannot be replaced. No one can tell when the raids may come, and for the present there can only be a relaxation of conditions at the London hospitals and at the bases.
Previous page
