The medical profession / by M. Foster Reaney.

  • Reaney, M. Foster.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The medical profession / by M. Foster Reaney. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    69/150 page 55
    practitioner varies greatly with the district, as well as with the interpretation put on the word “ maintain.” Many factors enter into the question : patients paying good fees are not only likely to want advice more often, but also expect longer attention, both in length and number of visits, than those on a lower social stratum. Thus they will have re- latively, as well as absolutely, larger accounts. Similarly, in a working-class district, the factors of the hospital and the clubs, as well as the nature of the general employment in the locality, will all influence the pecuniary result to the doctor. Given the absence of a hospital, few or no clubs, and constant, well-paid, skilled employment—meaning a stationary population—far fewer people will suffice than in a district where there is a large general hospital, many clubs, and discontinuous, poorly-paid, unskilled work,—engendering a shifting population. Then, again, there is the incidence of disease. This, for various hygienic reasons, falls most heavily on the lower classes. The age and sex distribution of a place will influence this factor to a considerable extent. The death-rate of a district, although by no means a criterion of the healthiness or otherwise of a locality, nevertheless seems to be a very fair guide to the amount of sickness prevalent in that part. It will be evident, from the foregoing considerations, that it is almost impossible to give any figures which will be in the least degree accurate. The following have no pretence to be of any real value, but roughly represent what may be taken as the lowest limits necessary. Many will consider them too low, some perhaps too high, but they represent the proportions prevalent in certain districts known to the writer, in which the medical men obtain at least a competence. For obvious reasons it is undesirable to give the names of the various districts. Rough Estimate of Number of People necessary to Maintain ONE Medical Man. AVERAGE VISITING FEES NUMBER OF PEOPLE REQUIRED 7s. 6d. to los. 6d. * 3s. 6d. to 5s. od. 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. 2s. 6d. and under 500 to 1,000 1.000 to 1,500 2.000 to 4,000 3,000 to 5,000 or more, depending greatly on the stability of the population and on the presence or absence of hospitals and clubs
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3