MAN'S BODY

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 102, 1 May 1937, Page 11

MAN'S BODY

SENT- TO MEDICAL, .-■ ; SCHOOL

.BOARD MEMBER'S INQUIRE

'hospital .'jNcroEili •/■•■'■■ ■ -"■ -~ ■ '■. . ;■' -•■■■ ■-••■■ ■ ■ - -~js|

- .Information as to. the authorltx.yP.r , s.ending a body" tb'-the Medical Scljfiol . 'al'Dunedin for,examination and^ss^ 0 , whether it'was fair' that the estateiiPf '; a deceased/person1 "should be cha^W with the-expenses incurred waS'SOlijjW. jby. Mr. A. W.. Csdsker.y at. Thursiijs ■ right's meeting of the Wellington H'tfe pital Board, -but he 'was 'stopped ifM proceeding "-by the •chairman .(Mrijp ■•Glover)'ruling that:the. matter shcim' '...first ;,gc before the house . commip| for consideration. Mr.. Croskery'.c'oijj; . tended that the matter was ofVpuljlij; ' -interest;- and although he did not prS ~ ceed--al.;the .meeting to. discuss furtfceJf . ,-a casp, which he..said;hadbeen r>roujp: ■•-under his. .notice,.he made a stßtemept. -.. subsequently, '.r ■ '■■■■■ ■;-.-■. -'.'. .'i!s|! i ;"I.have had a .statement placedi!"; my~ hands. from- a Mrs.,! Rhodes,": saiij! ..Mr.;..Croskery -at-the. .meeting of ;,t|f; -board:' "It:" appears, to me, that rt§s' "hospital,- 'in "; common'with;, other-hps'ji. ' .j)itals;-'is:in- the habit of- sending : bodie|; ■ dowri .-.t'o-. the ■ Medical School in ,Dub| edin.': ; .That is quite news to me,-.but; ■ it appears that" it is so,, because her| are' all tlie documents from the PubliiJ; : Trustee:'' ; I "would like to find out.first ■ \vhq' 'authorises the', sending of a bod|: :.to fthe'Medical School and I;would alsg " hTte'to" find'oiit whether it:is a fair? -. 'thuig to charge: the, estate of the d|^ "•-.' ceased' person 'for 'the expenses bt } sending ;the /body to 'Dunedin." ' ' -■'$ '"'■;■ Tii'e chairman' (Mr.;J: Glover): ;This ■;,'js .a .matter >yhich should go before the. •■ ■ 'before it conies before-'thfe ■ .board;.' '. '. "' "• '"■'•';' ■ '..'■".-,Mr.!;Cros.keryt ■I 1 am" merely asking 'for!.information." " This is a'general '...matter; . I disagree \vith you, sir. .. f. The chairman: -That is my ruling, -.- anyhow.; sv.: : ,-. ■'■:.t-■■-.•-■-r;-.■'.■■'. - t . Mr-'Cfoskery said he desired that the! matter should be given, publicity. It, Was not a private matter at all.. ; :J, .' ■' ■;i 'The /.chairman: ■ You. are, just- as. big; a. stickler, as aiiybody for matters not' coming before the; board before they' ' .'.are. considered by the appropriate, cony" : mittee. : . .-/ ■,-'■■,■ ■ , ,' '■ ,;., ' ■-./ ■>': ' : Mr.' Croskery:- It- has'*nothing to do, -'.'. with the committee. . ', v.. . i ''. : - - The chairman:"!lt should! go before- . '■■ thte-ihbtise "■'-. corhmitteq/ : '■';-! ; : ;., ;-. 1 ■■■■■". A-! SUBSEQXTENT' STATEMENT. ;; '~ Mr. Croskery explained afterwards "that the case he wished' to.mention was that i of: a ma'h"! who died in the. Wei-: - iington Hospital •on December. 21, 1936. ,-On- December 23 .a .firm of 'undertaker^ - ' '(\yhich lie' named)':.received riotificav "tion-from the-hospital to .ship a 'body -'to the Medical School in .Dunedin., The statedthat the. body .was. - shipped a few days afterwards.;; The ■^deceased .had been living,, with a family for-, many years .and;',had, always '. when.in hospital-given their name and, -address- as ■ the' ones !to be";seht for. in -case-the! necessity, arose.;-" : -The; ■ htis- '•"'■■'-. band of the family received an account :for -9s for one -day's! hospital,attention, on January 4,1937,- and, thinking it was • straijge, - went i to.. the hospital offices and' saw the secretary,: who > discussed . with him where the deceased should ' -he-buried, but:he decia^ed'^hat- no in-. ,'-t]mation. was! given 'to !;him: 'that the /.'deceased's 'b'ody':had ,been shipped to ' - the^Me.dical. Schpdl. atJ,'D.unedin:; \>\ On ; . :aanuary;7-he received i. letter from thfe "secretary, of the board -intimating that -lie-would bo pleased 'if 'he 'would ( call : "upon- Dr.: Mercer, .pathologist, -at'-the-, .Wellington Hospital,', to .discus's-; with, '■'': him !certain matters relative to-'the 'burial...'! On January 30 he received "•another letter 'from the secretary of ' -the '-board as ,follbws:—"Further to my !']etter,of the■ 7th instant, I am assum- - ing that as you have.not called upon ■-■■; Dr. .Mercer, pathologist,- you! have no '' objection to, .raise to the removal cf 1 '.the late Mr..—Tr's-body'to^unedin for •■ examination.. Upoirthe return of the "body- from- Dunedin I ..can/assure; you that it will be interred in the late Mr. ■■——'s plot at Kar.ori." '.; ■ ~ :' "The deceased," continued Mr. Croskery, ''was,:an pld-age/pensioner' and his estate was charged'with : the ex-. -pense 'of- sending his body back from Dunedin-to" Wellington, as the account: for1 £17 shows.:.' In-addition, there was a charge; of £5 10 s by a local undertaker for meeting the boat and conducting the! funeral,: this 'item, bringing the total to; '£22105, but from- this amount has to : be' 'deducted the^sum of £4 for the carriage of the body.^as- ':■ it is understood the Union Steam Ship Company ships bodies.free to the Medi"cal'Schoor at Dunedin.'.'. ':/-.,-•. !.-■'■. ■ '•■■■ 'Mr;' Croskery said that, his riniorma-"tiori''-was' that the deceased had- -. fre- •' quently■' intimated-to his^ friends- that » - he "trusted- his body would never be allowed" to" -be the ;. subject of an " examination after/"death, "Here we have a poor old man," concluded Mr. Croskery, "thrown on-the tender mercies of the. Hospital.Board, and his re-mains-are forwarded to a medical college for: examination; without the authority of his friends.. Furthermore, ■ to make matters a-, thousand times worse, his'estate is charged expenses . ■'-. which were never incurred by him."