ST. HELENS HOME

Evening Post, Volume LXXXV, Issue 20, 24 January 1913, Page 3

ST. HELENS HOME

ENQUIRY AT AUCKLAND. QUESTIONS REGARDING' RECORD BOOKS.(B* TELEGRAPH — r-RESS ASSOCIAtION.) ! AUCKLAND, 23rd January. • The enquiry into the administration of St. Helen's Maternity Home, as the result of charges formulated by ' Mrs. Emily Nicol.and the Auckland Timber Workers' Union, Was continued to-day, j before the Commissioner (Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.M.). Dr. Tracy Inglis was further examined regarding record books kept in the home. To the' Commissioner Ml'danndt produce, any , correspondence relating to my apt pomtment. The Commissioner : What has' become of it? - ; Witness: I do not know. The Commissioner: What was the actual date of your "appointment ? ' Witness: I do not' know* It was in June, 1906. The Commissioners Your day-book shows every attendance at the hdme? Witness: Yes. t ' , The Commissioner ; When you "went to, the hospital, did you enter a; record of what you saw? v ' ' Witness : Some years there-.wasa diary kept. The Commissioner : When was a diary last kept?. . „ '„ Witness: The year before last. The Commissioner: Will the diaries cover any .of these cases'-? ' - . Witness: They might' cover Mrs. Marsh's case. < ( The Commissioner :. I .would like these diaries produced. •• Was a" prescription book kept? Witness: No. The prescriptions were written on ' pieces of paper i These, were kept by the chemist., The Commissioner: How did you find out what you had previously" prescribed for a patient?- , "■ . Witness:" I rang up if I wanted to know. , ' NO DIARY KEPT! " The Commissioner:. .Why , wasn't a diary in the home '■kept up? * Witness: I do not know. The Commissioner : Why didn't you see that it was kept up?' t Witness I had no instructions. I considered that everything w,aV covered by my own private diary. "•/ »,' The Commissioner: I must see all, these record books. It is 'important that I should. ( Giving evidence in the case of Mrs. I Chamberlain, >, Dr. Inglis -said if' he -had thought septic germs were -present in the home he would not" have performed the operation. Witness saw Mrs. Chamberlain every day from' the- 21st till the 26th, when he himself was laid' up. He thought it was on 24th • August he ordered her removal to /the isolation ward. It was her high temperature that caused him to decide to isolate Her, and not because he thought that she was septic. On several occasions she asked witness whether she mign t get up, as she 'was feeling well 1 ." "Her HigTrtemperature. however, would not allow of this on 27th August.. From ' the fact' that when a patient, after- confinement, has a high temperature for 'some days, " there is some danger of their being septic. Witness thought 'it 1 wise to notify the Health ■ Department. - ' - . • ' Commissioner .(examining the notification form) : There has been something cut off this form. i What'was on i\ft • • - - Witness:. l don't know, /Probably just the envelope flap. . ■ ' The Commissioner : -Yes} but what does/'.note 2" mean? ... i Witness : I think that' ig some instruction regarding to whom the form' is ■to be sent. • "-..'> The Commissioner.: I, do/not suggest there is' anything - wrong ""about"'.- it, • butthe matter can be cleared aip rby getting a blank -form, and comparing 'the. two. Mr. Mays : , I will; ..produce another form. The Commissioner : fAts.i Chamberlain's ,cas,e wag reported by you according to the form on 28th August.. The postmark is cut off, but the department s stamp of receipt is 9th September^ - t ■ Witness : I, cannot explain ,it.' » Mr. Skelton: Mrs; Ch'ambprlair' died about midnight on 9th September. 'The Commissioner: YeSj »A"nd if the Health Department received the. notification on 29th August, "and -'did not 'do anything till 9th, September,.]! will want to know something mor« ..about it. Dr. Inglia said that when he^saw Mr. Chamberlain-, witness said' that jie. would be glad to have an opportunity of discussing his wife's case. Witness told Mr. Chamberlain that le- thought his wife was suffering from ,a« >early fprto of consumption. Witness said that -it was difficult to say what -the -result -of his wife's illness would, be./ .On leaving Mr. Chamberlain said in answer, to the doctor that he was perfectly, satisfied with the treatment 'his . wife had been" receiving. AIEDICAIr BTIQUETa'JS.; t The Commissioner : Supposing a patient or patient's relative, asked you to allow another medical man to. see her in the home, 'would you' object? ' ,- Witness j No, not te-his 'seeing her, but I would to his treating her. The Commissioner!' Would >ybu have consulted with Dr. Broekway on the case? Witness: No. • i The Commissioner :-, Why not? ■Witness: First, he is- a -junior practitioner to myself. Second, he" does not .make it specialty. of this work, and from these facts I considered' that his opinion would not help me at; all.. The Commissioner-. Did you think Mrs. Chamberlain's condition was • serious then? t , • Witness.' No; I thought she would recover sufficiently' to ' get out of the home. Witness 'said that in '• reply to Mr. Chamberlain, who suggested Dr." Brockway's name as 'consultant,, he "said that if he consulted anybody he would prefer to' see a specialist dr. a' senior member of the profession. Tho Commissioner :• Mr! Chamberlain swears that you said thatf -you would not consult with Dr Brockway because the latter did not belong to , the British Medical" Association. ' \ ' Witness : I deny saying* that absolutely. ' ' The Cojnmissioner : Was the' British Medical Association mentioned? Witness : No. :' , The Commissioner: Substantially, you deny Mr. Chamberlain's evidence. , Witness : I ' do. * There" are material points in it that I absolutely dispute. -To the -Commissioner :t: t In -the certificate of death for which- Mr. Chamberlain had called at liis surgery, witness stated that the cause 'oNfeath was.puer- | peral septicaemia and heart 1 failure. When asked how Mts. Chamberlain became septic, witness '.went ,on', to say that first of all Mis. Chamberlain was run down. She was ..siiffefting from bronchial pneumonia^ and this trouble, extonding over a 'fortnight, had reduced her general condition." She 'was 'then in a favourable- condition' for (infection either from germs very. often; .normally found in* certain parts of' the" 'body,' 'or from germs causing the chest trouble. If infection had taken place at an earlier stage, the patient would have shown signs of it. Taking the case right through, witness ■ considered - that the general infection which led to her death flfst showed definitely about thsend'of August*

said. that from June, 1906, till governher, 1912, there had been 140? confinement cases- treated in the home, and 955 outdoor patients treated by the' home nurses. Of these there had been only 9 maternal deaths and' 17, infantile. He knew of no hospital, in the world .where the results were 'more, favourable. He detailed the causes of death in each of the first nine cases. i