The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1964, Side 29

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
27
The Doctor Drain Troubles Iceland
by E. L. CHICANOT
“Iceland has some of the world’s best-built, best equipped hospitals. 'But the doctor
shortage is so acute that some may have to close within two years”. —So writes E.
L. Chicanot, Associate Editor of the “Canadian Doctor”, a monthly Business Journal
for the Medical Profession published by National Business Publications Ltd. at
Gardenvale, Que. The following are the pertinent parts of an article which ap-
peared in the June 1964 issue of the “Canadian Doctor” an its “Health Programs”
features.
• In view of health programming in Canada and the proposed tying of increases in old age
pensions to the cost-of-living index the article is very timely —Ed.
The minor hut significant part Ice-
land has played in Canadian develop-
ment sparks an immediate ray of in-
terest at mention of 'that country's
name. . . .
While medicine in Iceland may not
impinge greatly on the science of Can-
ada, there is a natural interest in its
history and in the manner of the direc-
tion of its services for the benefit of
the people. . . .
One person stands out prominently,
even when the whole of Scandinavia
is considered. He was Hrafn Svein-
bjarnarson who lived in Western Ice-
land from 1170 to 1213. His knowledge
of surgery may be traced to the Italian
school of Salerno.
First Icelandic Doctor
Appointed in 1760
In the late Middle Ages, and up to
the middle of the eighteenth century,
public health was very poor. There
was no question of actual medical at-
tendance, only superstition and prayer.
Time and again Iceland was ravaged
by fatal epidemics and in the begin-
ning and at the end of the fifteenth
century by the “black death”. Small-
pox raged repeatedly in Iceland and
in the epidemic of 1707 is said to have
wiped out about one third of the entire
population. A few foreign and Ice-
landic barber surgeons carried out
their activities in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries but they never
practised as a profession.
The year 1760 marked the beginning
of a new epoch in Icelandic health hi-
story, and from then on the situation
in this respect gradually improved,
though at a tardy rate for some time.
In this year the first medical officer
was appointed and the first pharmacy
was established. At the same time 'the
first university-trained physician start-
ed his activities in Iceland.
The utterly unsatisfactory situation
of having only one adequately equip-
ped physician for the whole country
was rapidly driven home and efforts
were made to gradually add to the
number. As this was effected the coun-
try was at the same time divided into
districts, each supervised by one univer-
sity trained physician.
This development was slow, however.
About 80 years after the first medical
officer had been appointed the num-
ber of university-trained physicians