George McCall Smith
[4] Some years later Scott's qualifications and role as an anaesthetist were questioned but the local Hospital Board determined she was "qualified" by virtue of her experience.
[5] By 1921 Barbara McCall Smith's petition for divorce on the grounds of her husband's adultery and abandonment had reached the Scottish court.
[7][11] Subsequently, the community rallied in support of Smith, presenting a 750 signature petition to the Board, and he was reappointed at his original salary.
[12][13] The Health Department required all hospitals to have special isolation beds for infectious diseases cases, in particular tuberculosis (TB).
[14] By the following year it was clear that the hospital resources were inadequate and in 1920, although some facilities had been improved, he began lobbying for a better water supply.
[21][22] The election of the Labour government in 1935 with its policy of a state medical service was an opportunity for Smith to promote his views.
After delays, partly due to the war, opposition from the medical profession and protracted negotiations with the government, the Hokianga Special Area was set up in September 1941.
[30] Smith practised some unconventional cures: using cod liver oil and vaseline on dressings to give a non-stick covering, wrapping simple fractures in newspaper casts which could be easily removed, inventing a 'black box' which was placed over the head of anaesthetised patients to raise CO2, refuting the need to eat green vegetables, rejection of circumcision, and encouraging schools to serve sheep-head broth to the children.
[32] During the 1918 flu epidemic Smith ordered the police to prevent visitors from entering the area, in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease.
[33] In 1933 an epidemic of a febrile illness broke out in Rawene and Smith ordered all shops and schools to be closed, assisted by the police.
However, in order to prevent the spread of the disease Smith succeeded in stopping a visit of the spiritual leader Ratana and his followers.
[34][35] Smith's management of TB cases was called into question in 1946 when patients died in their own homes, putting other family members at risk.
[37] In 1948 during the polio epidemic Smith demanded that the Northland Medical Officer of Health, James Newman, use his authority to close schools and shops to prevent the disease from spreading.
[54] The inscription read "Tribute to the memory of George McCall Smith "The Doctor" in this district and medical superintendent from 1914 to 1948.
He designed the Rawene Hospital and set up the Hokianga Co-operative Medical Service of doctors, nurses and people - his true memorial.
Parkes opined: George McCall Smith began ahead of his time yet ended up overtaken by new developments.
His single-mindedness gave him the strength to succeed, yet in the end ironically, it contributed to his eventual loss of self-confidence and consequent resignation.
