BRANCH OF THE BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, FOR NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, &c

632

BRANCH OF THE

BRITISH MEDICAL ASSOCIATION,FOR

NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, &c.

(Extract from the Report for 1838-39, justissued.)

THE British Medical Association for Not-tingham, Nottinghamshire, and the adjoin-ing counties, has greatly increased in thenumber of its members since its formation.The Committee have, during the past year,directed their attention to several importantmatters affecting the interests of the medicalprofession, principally to the subject of me-dical relief under the new Poor-Law, to theinefficient manner in which coroner’s in-quests are frequently conducted, and toviolations of the law by unqualified practi-tioners in medicine.The injustice of the system of tender has

induced the Committee to use their firstendeavours for its suppression, to effectwhich the following circular has been sub-mitted to the profession of the immediateneighbourhood, and received its all but una-nimous approbation :-"We, the undersigned medical practi-

tioners, considering that the system of ten.dering for medical services to the Unions,for the relief of the poor, is derogatory tothe character, as well as injurious to the in-terests of the profession, do hereby pledgeourselves to abstain from offering any ten-ders, and to oppose that system as much aslies in our power."The Committee regret to say that the sys-

tem of tender is, on the part of the authori-ties, in full activity, and that, whilst thepoor are obliged to travel such great dis-tances to seek advice, and afterwards formedicine, as to render the aid that theywant often impossible of access, the remu-neration to the medical attendant is altoge-ther an inadequate recompense. The onlymeans of compelling the authorities to adopta different mode of contract, is unanimity inadopting the pledge of the circular.The Committee have forwarded to Lon-

don, at the desire of the parent Association,the names of the most notorious unqualifiedpractitioners in Nottingham and its neigh-bourhood.The Committee have had a correspond-

once with the " Nottingham Review," onthe inefficiency of some inquests in thecounty, as reported in that paper. Theylave also had an interview with the coronersof the town and county, requesting them tosummon as witnesses all unqualified medi-cal practitioners who have attended oncases in which inquests are held, so thattheir treatment and incompetence to practisemay be shown to the world; with this re-

quest the coroners expressed their acquies-

cence, on the condition that the members ofthe medical profession would afford themtheir assistance in any difficult medico-legalinvestigation; and the Committee hope thatevery member of the Association will attendwhen called on.*The Committee hope that every member

of the Association, overlooking temporarypersonal advantages, will steadily look for-ward to the permanent interests of the pro-fession. They trust that the members willexcite their professional brethren to assistin similar undertakings, so that, by suchAssociations, the spirit of the professionmay be fairly roused to secure unqualifiedsuccess, for the unanimous voice of such abody will never make a demand in vain.The officers of the Nottingham Branch for

1839-40, are,-President, Dr. J. M. Davidson.Vice-Presidents, Wm. Wright, Esq., Dr.

Pigott, A. F. A. Greeves, Esq., Dr. Hutch-inson, G. M. White, Esq., and S. Fearn, Esq..

Treasurer, R. Davison, Esq.Honorary-Secretary, H. C. Attenburrow,.

Esq. ; and eight members of Committee.

SURGICAL SOCIETY OF IRELAND.

ACTION OF THE ILEO-CŒCAL VALVE.

DR. O’BEIRNE said he wished to make afew observations on one or two cases of

! strangulated hernia. These cases had beenunder the care of his colleagues in the Rich-mond Hospital-Dr. M’Donnell and Mr.Adams, who had given him permission tomake use of them, as one of them illustrated,in a very striking manner, his views respect-ing the functions of the ileo-coecal valve,and all of them his peculiar opinions onstrangulated hernia. The first case was thatof J. M’Mahon, aged 51, who had been ad-mitted into the Richmond Hospital on the23rd of August, 1838, with strangulated in-giiinal hernia. Among other means em.ployed, the tube had been tried, but withouteffect, and it was found necessary to ope-rate. On opening the sac, the causes of thefailure of the tube were found to be three.fold, viz.—1st. The existence of a membran-ous band on the outside of, and compressingthe sac. 2nd. Firm adhesions between theprotruded portion of intestine and the sac,posteriorly. 3rd. The presence of hardenedfaeces in the cavity of the strangulated por-tion of the bowels. But the most interestingpart of the case respected the new doctrinewhich he had put forth in regard to thefunction of the iteo-coecal valve. In his

* We doubt the policy of this measure.Will it not tend to deprive members of theprofession in Nottingham of the advantageswhich they derive under the Medical Wit-nesses’ Act ?-ED. L.