NURSE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUCHATER.

NZ Truth, Issue 67, 29 September 1906, Page 4

NURSE CHARGED WITH MANSLAUCHATER.

Miserable Maternity Homes. Hellish Neglect of a Woman m Travail Causes Death of Her Infant. (By Wire— Prom Ouj- Christchurch Correspondents. Enquiries made regarding the conduct of Maternity Homes m CUnstchurch show tha-tsome of them are carried on m *m unspeakably rotten way, and that a radical. alteration is desirable. •■■• . The charging of Nurse. Brown with manslaughter, owing to the death of an infant m her house, opened the eyes of the public as to how patients were treated m a number of these small ramshackle institutions. It appears that this particular house was licensed, bat that the licensee was told that alterations must' be effected in' the building. These alterations were carried out while the patients were still m the place, and one lady ■ informed the writer that the plaster from the ceiling fell about .Jier while she was lying m bed after her confinement. Another ' vouchsafed the information that the fourth day after her accouchement, irfstead of being offered suitable nourishment, she was given German sausage for breakfast. The Rev. G. Russell, of St. Michael's Vicarage, Halkett, had a chat with "Truth's" representative, and said he- had sent his wife to this precious Home until she got over her trouble. A probationer who had only been there a week looked after her. The girl left just afterwards tp go to another Home m Salisbury-street. Mrs Russell complained to her husband (who ran into town to see her three times a week) of the lack of attention, inferior food and the absence of warmth, the month bein^ July last, when it was bitterly cold. Also there wa.s a man boarder iti the Home who was apparently a. "great friend" of Nurse Brown. This man ran into her m the dark passage as she was coming out . of her room one night and she screamed. She told her husband of this and he decided -to remove her from tho place at all hazards, so he took her away at, eleven o'clock one night and secured accommodation for her at a hotel and next da^ placed her m another Maternity .Home,, where her ACCOUCHEMENT TOOK PLACE. Then Nurse Brown forwarded her bill to the reverend gentleman, but charged a few iruineas extra because Mrs Russell had left without giving due notice. This was contested, Mr Harman. the Rev. Russell's lawyer, writing and wsaying that the amount claimed would not be paid. Then, according to the Rev. Mr Russell, he received a letter from Nurse Brown's lawyer- intimating m pretty plain terms that if he dared to go to court over the business evidence would be called to show that his wife had been under the influence of liquor on a number of occasions while at the Home, The Rev. gentleman characterises this as a MOST DASTARDLY SLANDER; and says the letter was a threatening; one calculated to make him stay away from court. That letter is m the possession of the police Hawever the amount claimed was ultimately reduced. Mr Russell was quite willing to enter the witness 1 box at the Christchurch Police Court on Wednesday and give evidence when Georgina Francis Brown was charged with manslaughter, but the Crown didn't call him. Nurse Brown, who it is believed at one. time resided m Syd-

ney, is a tall woman of about 45 years of age, with a thin face and rather prominent nose She was daintily attired m a costume of blue, wore a fur boa and a long veil. . Lawyer McConneii appeared for her. Crown Prosecutor Stringer said that Mrs Browu had been the keepor of a Maternity Home m which only maternity cases were received. Same few weeks before August last she had left her home m order to undergo an operation, returning a few days before August 5. She was still too ill to attend to patients, however, and was m bed on that date. While she was still m bed Mrs Clarence Patterson was sent along to<be confined. There was only a probationer, Mrs Lorrimer, m the establishment, and a servant who had arrived the day previous. Nurse Lorrimer had only five months' experience. Mrs Patterson was put into a bedroom when she arrived, she was already m the early stages of labor and «;ot worse. At 11 p.m. Nurse Lorrimer saw her and said she would be all right. Then she was called away to attend a baby which was only a few days old and had been sent there without its mother. When Nurse Lorrimer called !) on Mrs Patterson about one o'clock m the morning the woman was not sufljcientlv far advanced to warrant calling m a doctor. She went upstairs and was so tired and exhausted that she fell asleep. On waking she went down to Mrs Patterson and found that she had given birth to a child and that it was dead, the cord 'being twice round its neck. She took it to Mrs Brown, who was m bed and rang up Dr. Russell, but all efforts to brine; the child round wore unavailing. The infant was healthy and had breathed. These were the circumstances under which a ahare-e was laid against Mrs Brown of heinoGUILTY OF MANSLAUGHTER. In keeping this nursing home she was under a legal duty of bestowing a reasonable degree of? care, skill and attention on patients. As she had not done this the woman was criminally responsible for the child losing its life. The fact that Mrs Rrowrherself was m bed, and that this probationer of five months' standing had to attend to a woman about to be confined, and Mrs Patterson, who was momentarily expected to be confined and an illegitimate motherless child, as well as to Mrs Brown herself, showed that the place was inadequately equipped and under the circumstances it was not to be wondered at that a fatality occurred. Dr. C. J. Russell, who 'had sent Mrs Patterson to the home, said he knew Nurse Brown had been away to go under an operation, but thought she had returned nnd when he was called m ,on Sunday morning the child was dead. In the course of hi & evidence the doctor said a child would not be considered to be alive until it had completely emerged from the body of its mother.. The child may have breathed m process of parturition but it may have been dead at the time it was finally expelled. He could not state positively because ho had not seen the cord twice round the child's neck as had been stated. It depended altogether upoa circumstances Whether Probationer Lorrimer would be able to attend to all the cases under her charge. Clarice Belle Patterson, wife of j George Ernest Patterson, employed at Bowron Bros., told • A PITIFUL' STORY of crass neglect. Nurse Lorrimer had visited her twice but she .saw her no more until next morning. She cried out again and again when m labor pains, but no one, responded. Eventually the child was born, She should say it was. alive then. She fainted away and knew nothing until roused by Nurse Lorrimer, who took the baby away and afterwards told her it was dead. It was a bitterly "cold night ; she felt cold and there was no fire m the room. She had received no food nor had she been offered any from the time of her arrival until after her confinement. It seemed to her a number of hours before Nurse Lorrimer ultimately came to see her. Probationer Nurse Lorrimer Is a woman of about 4-7 years of age and she has a family to keep. Her children are looked after by her sister. It would appear to be never too late m life to take up the nursing game. This woman detailed her multifarious duties at the home m July and August, saying she was doinir the nursing work single-handed. There had been another probationer there, but she had left. The witness, when detailing who were living on the premises, and who were m need of attention, blurted out the fact that there was a "gentleman boarder" living there. . . . "What," said Mr Stringer, "a gentleman boarder m a maternity home?" "Yes ; a Mr Martin." "A man named Martin, eh ?" Witness mentioned that she had also to do housework besides nursing and her hands were always pretty full. Mrs Lorrimer gave full details of the happenings on the night m question. She had laid down alongside the motherless infant, THE "UNATTACHED" BABY, and slept until she was awakened by the boarder, Martin, and went down to Mrs Patterson. The' latter wasn't sufficiently bad to justify ringing up the doctor and she returned to the infant, which was orying furiously. She dozed off again and woke up m a. fright, and on getting to Mrs Patterson she found that she had given birth to a child. She at once severed the navel cord and found it was not breathing. Witness said fhe could not honestly attend to all those people ml.that house by herself. She had bgeh working from six o'clock m the and on her feet all day lonjc 1 until she fell asleep by the side of the motherless child before midnight. She had had no opportunity for rest during the day at all. In a properly conducted home the usual hours are from 8 to 8 or from 6 to 6. She had attended 19 maternity cases and considered herself competent to look after cases of that description. The night the new servant arrived she slept on the landing, as Mrs . Patterson occupied the servant's room downstairs. She slept within a few feet of witness's bed. In cross-examination, witness said that at a quarter past one when she told Mr,^ Brown about the patient's

condition, and the latter told her she had better sleep on .the sofa m the kitchen so as to be near Mrs Patterson. She did not do this, however. She was tired and it was bitterly cold and she went up to bed ; sleeping for a number of hours. Nurse Lorrimer told the Bench that she never got any wages while with Nurse Brown- When she went there she had to pay three pounds as a probationer's fee, but Nurse Brown was supposed .to give her "lectures." The Bench, composed of Justices Pender and Inwood, committed accused for trial and she was released on bail.