Doctors under pressure

In an editorial headed‘Be easy on the local doctors’the Observer said the number of medical men in Stirling was half of what it was before the war.

Many who practised in Stirling were with the armed forces and it was likely others would be called up to meet the demands of the services.

Those who were left had to do the work of double their number, which was impossible, said the paper, and people should show consideration to medics.

“Many people run to doctors for very little reason – and sometimes none at all – and this has been very noticeable since the State Insurance Act came into force,”the paper said.

“Minor ailments which would have been borne in the past, because the doctor’s fee had to be paid and money expended on medicine, are now magnified into something serious on the part of the sufferer and the time of their medical advisor is correspondingly wasted.”

The Observer agreed with another paper which suggested the civil population would have to learn to“economise”in its use of the doctors left to meet the needs of the homefront.

“People must avoid any calls that are not really necessary,”said the Observer, “and they will have to put up with shorter and less frequent visits where attendance is indispensable.

“When the question is providing for the care of the wounded on the battlefield or providing treatment for minor ailments at home, there can be little doubt of the answer.

“The boys at the front have first claim.”