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GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL
1076 the council that they had rendered satisfactory service under the conditions applicable to holders of diplomas granted in the British Isles. Applicants holding recognised Commonwealth or foreign diplomas who could not,claim full registration on this basis could claim such registration if they had acquired otherwise substantially equivalent experience of the practice of medicine and
out that the Criminal Justice Act envisages- such efforts, but that there has not yet been opportunity to bring them into being. ,
Only organisational difficulties-and they are formidable-appear to stand in the way of attempting to make prisons self-supporting, to make inmates work for their living. To introduce a new spirit of this type might breathe
new
surgery. - No doubt, at the
life into the Prison Service and counteract
beginning some of the machinery might creak ; but, given the cooperation of student, medical school, and hospital authority, it should soon The student might -be assured that the run smoothly. authorities of his school would do everything they could to help him to secure suitable posts ; but that would not free him from using his own judgment and himself seeking employment, as those before him had done. It was certain that all licensing bodies and schools would prefer each student to take posts for 6 months in general medicine and 6 months in general surgery ; and if that was impracticable, they would insist that 6 months should be spent in either general medicine or general surgery. Before accepting any particular post included. in the list published by the council, the applicant should
demoralising effect on staff of the purely custodial care of caged human beings. Continued neglect of such an experiment is perilous for society.
the
A
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
It would be well if the current agitation for an arbitrary with no thought for principle, were an end. The public needs a respite from fears aroused by the fantasy that the country is being overwhelmed by violent lawlessness, a fantasy which is far removed from the fact. Much good would follow from more objectivity in the press, and less exploitation of the situation for the sake of the circulationmore circumspection, especially in public utterances, by leading judges and magistrates ; and more thought by the general population about the moral and spiritual values of our civilisation, including recognition of the effect of the more primitive -emotions on our thoughts and conclusions.
change in the law, quickly brought to
consult the authorities of his school as to whether the combination of posts he proposed would be recognised by his licensing body to enable him to qualify for full registration. Hospital authorities could help greatly by synchronising as far as possible their appointments with the periods at which final examinations were held. By effecting a revision- of existing staff arrangements and providing the requisite residential accommodation,- they might also secure the recognition of hospitals not yet approved and thus add to the number of suitable posts. The ultimate responsibility lay with the licensing bodies. The council’s sole object was to perfect the administrative machinery and to do all in its power to enable these bodies to ensure that this , measure would lead to a higher standard of medical care and
GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL OPENING the 185th session last Tuesday, Prof. DAVID the president, remarked that the Dentists Bill had not gone further than the first reading in the House of Commons before the close of the Parliamentary It would, therefore, have to be renewed in session. Parliament as though it were being introduced for the first time ; and it appeared probable that the council would have to continue to carry out its duties in relation to the dental profession for an indefinite period. The next edition of the B1’itish Pharmacopaeia would be published on March 1, 1953, and have effect from Sept. 1, 1953. A quarter of a century ago the Macmillan Committee, whose report was accepted by the council, urged that the body preparing future issues of the British Pharmacopœia should not only be composed of thoroughly qualified persons but should also be such as to command the confidence of all the interests concerned. The committee to select the new Pharmacopoeia Commission would, therefore, consist of representatives of the council, the Pharmaceutical Societies of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Medical Research Council. The council had decided to put into operation that part of the Act of 1950 which empowered them to appoint visitors, not being members of the council, to medical schools and examinations. It proposed to select men of special qualifications and ’of experience on particular subjects, and to arrange for them to visit both the schools and the examinations. The Appointed Day for introducing the compulsory period of ’service as a house-officer was to be Jan. 1, 1953.. Approved hospitals and institutions numbered
CAMPBELL,
634-456 in England and Wales, 104 in Scotland, 24 in Northern Ireland, and 50 (approved by’ the Medical Registration Council of the Republic) in Eire. The total number of posts was 3048-280 in Eire and 2768 in the United Kingdom. Of the United Kingdom posts 926 were in general medicine, 972 in general surgery, 342 in midwifery, and 528 in the various specialties (171 primarily medical and 357 primarily surgical). Holders of recognised Commonwealth or foreign diplomas would be able to claim registration if they had been employed for the period -in, hospitals approved by licensing bodies of this country, and if they satisfied
prescribed
’
practice. DENTAL TREATMENT OF CHILDREN THE British Dental Association found, from the answers to a questionary, that private practitioners were willing to set aside about 10,000 hours per week for the dental treatment of school-children ; and in a memorandum1 to the Government it suggested that this might help -to
provide a short-term solution to the problem of obtaining enough treatment for this priority group. In their reply the Ministers of Health and Education and the Secretary of State for Scotland state " certain principles which they consider to be fundamental to the proper organisation of a dental service for the priority classes and to which in their view both short term and long term policy must have regard. "The first is that as has been shown by experience the
most effective way of providing treatment for school-children is in clinics closely associated with school routine so as both to ensure the attendance of children,in need of it and to cause the least interruption of their education. Treatment for, a younger children can most effectively be prpvided clinic service forming part of the local health authorities’
by
general arrangements
for the
care
of mothers and children,
to encourage attendance and meet the of the mothers. so
’
as
convenience
it is
" Secondly,
imperative, particularly in present economic expenditure and here again experience has shown that-children-can be treated in clinics at a substantially lower èost than when treated by private dentists remunerated for eachitem. of circumstances,
treatment
on
to achieve the utmost economy in
the scale of fees in
dental service.
operation
1. Brit. dent. J. Oct. 21, 1952, suppl. p. 53; Lancet, Oct. 25, 1952, p. 814.
under the see
general
leading article,.
out that the Criminal Justice Act envisages- such efforts, but that there has not yet been opportunity to bring them into being. ,
Only organisational difficulties-and they are formidable-appear to stand in the way of attempting to make prisons self-supporting, to make inmates work for their living. To introduce a new spirit of this type might breathe
new
surgery. - No doubt, at the
life into the Prison Service and counteract
beginning some of the machinery might creak ; but, given the cooperation of student, medical school, and hospital authority, it should soon The student might -be assured that the run smoothly. authorities of his school would do everything they could to help him to secure suitable posts ; but that would not free him from using his own judgment and himself seeking employment, as those before him had done. It was certain that all licensing bodies and schools would prefer each student to take posts for 6 months in general medicine and 6 months in general surgery ; and if that was impracticable, they would insist that 6 months should be spent in either general medicine or general surgery. Before accepting any particular post included. in the list published by the council, the applicant should
demoralising effect on staff of the purely custodial care of caged human beings. Continued neglect of such an experiment is perilous for society.
the
A
CHANGE OF ATTITUDE
It would be well if the current agitation for an arbitrary with no thought for principle, were an end. The public needs a respite from fears aroused by the fantasy that the country is being overwhelmed by violent lawlessness, a fantasy which is far removed from the fact. Much good would follow from more objectivity in the press, and less exploitation of the situation for the sake of the circulationmore circumspection, especially in public utterances, by leading judges and magistrates ; and more thought by the general population about the moral and spiritual values of our civilisation, including recognition of the effect of the more primitive -emotions on our thoughts and conclusions.
change in the law, quickly brought to
consult the authorities of his school as to whether the combination of posts he proposed would be recognised by his licensing body to enable him to qualify for full registration. Hospital authorities could help greatly by synchronising as far as possible their appointments with the periods at which final examinations were held. By effecting a revision- of existing staff arrangements and providing the requisite residential accommodation,- they might also secure the recognition of hospitals not yet approved and thus add to the number of suitable posts. The ultimate responsibility lay with the licensing bodies. The council’s sole object was to perfect the administrative machinery and to do all in its power to enable these bodies to ensure that this , measure would lead to a higher standard of medical care and
GENERAL MEDICAL COUNCIL OPENING the 185th session last Tuesday, Prof. DAVID the president, remarked that the Dentists Bill had not gone further than the first reading in the House of Commons before the close of the Parliamentary It would, therefore, have to be renewed in session. Parliament as though it were being introduced for the first time ; and it appeared probable that the council would have to continue to carry out its duties in relation to the dental profession for an indefinite period. The next edition of the B1’itish Pharmacopaeia would be published on March 1, 1953, and have effect from Sept. 1, 1953. A quarter of a century ago the Macmillan Committee, whose report was accepted by the council, urged that the body preparing future issues of the British Pharmacopœia should not only be composed of thoroughly qualified persons but should also be such as to command the confidence of all the interests concerned. The committee to select the new Pharmacopoeia Commission would, therefore, consist of representatives of the council, the Pharmaceutical Societies of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Medical Research Council. The council had decided to put into operation that part of the Act of 1950 which empowered them to appoint visitors, not being members of the council, to medical schools and examinations. It proposed to select men of special qualifications and ’of experience on particular subjects, and to arrange for them to visit both the schools and the examinations. The Appointed Day for introducing the compulsory period of ’service as a house-officer was to be Jan. 1, 1953.. Approved hospitals and institutions numbered
CAMPBELL,
634-456 in England and Wales, 104 in Scotland, 24 in Northern Ireland, and 50 (approved by’ the Medical Registration Council of the Republic) in Eire. The total number of posts was 3048-280 in Eire and 2768 in the United Kingdom. Of the United Kingdom posts 926 were in general medicine, 972 in general surgery, 342 in midwifery, and 528 in the various specialties (171 primarily medical and 357 primarily surgical). Holders of recognised Commonwealth or foreign diplomas would be able to claim registration if they had been employed for the period -in, hospitals approved by licensing bodies of this country, and if they satisfied
prescribed
’
practice. DENTAL TREATMENT OF CHILDREN THE British Dental Association found, from the answers to a questionary, that private practitioners were willing to set aside about 10,000 hours per week for the dental treatment of school-children ; and in a memorandum1 to the Government it suggested that this might help -to
provide a short-term solution to the problem of obtaining enough treatment for this priority group. In their reply the Ministers of Health and Education and the Secretary of State for Scotland state " certain principles which they consider to be fundamental to the proper organisation of a dental service for the priority classes and to which in their view both short term and long term policy must have regard. "The first is that as has been shown by experience the
most effective way of providing treatment for school-children is in clinics closely associated with school routine so as both to ensure the attendance of children,in need of it and to cause the least interruption of their education. Treatment for, a younger children can most effectively be prpvided clinic service forming part of the local health authorities’
by
general arrangements
for the
care
of mothers and children,
to encourage attendance and meet the of the mothers. so
’
as
convenience
it is
" Secondly,
imperative, particularly in present economic expenditure and here again experience has shown that-children-can be treated in clinics at a substantially lower èost than when treated by private dentists remunerated for eachitem. of circumstances,
treatment
on
to achieve the utmost economy in
the scale of fees in
dental service.
operation
1. Brit. dent. J. Oct. 21, 1952, suppl. p. 53; Lancet, Oct. 25, 1952, p. 814.
under the see
general
leading article,.