A HOSPITAL CENSURED.

Evening Star, Issue 12864, 13 July 1906, Page 7

A HOSPITAL CENSURED.

An ironworker named Williams, living in Bermondsoy, at the inquest at Lambeth, | London, on the body of his wife Selina,J said that sh > had for some time been in' great pain, and a doctor advised she should ue taken <o hospital. The husband took her on April 24 in a cab to Guy's. On arriving there, he said, they were kept waiting some time, and then, after sho bad been examined, he was told that sho could aot be admitted that night as there was only one bed available, and that was being iept for cases of extreme urgency. He and iiis wife returned home, reaching' there about two o'clock, and during the remainder of the night she became much worse. The next morning he went to the hospital, and informed the house surgeon of this, and was requested to bring her again at 5.30 that evening. He took her at that time, and was then kept waiting tor 15 hours. A doctor then said he could do nothing for hev, as the case was not sufficiently urgent to warrant them in giving her a bed She appealed for something to be done for her to relieve tfie pain from which she was suffering, but ncthing was done. He then took her, the witness continued, to St. Thomas's Hospital, and the doctor, who immediately attended her :here, said that she was practically dying, ,nd the only hope of saving her was an iteration. He consented to the operation, nit she succumbed during its performance.' Mr Claude Stevenson, house surgeon at Guy's Hospital, said that in the letter which the local doctor sent by the last witness he said that there was a large abscess at the back of the right ear, which required opening, but witness thought it was only enlarged glands, and did not think lancing was necessary. The house physician, who also saw the woman, came ;o the same conclusion. She was treated by him, but not admitted. The Coroner asked what was the arrangement about admitting her at 5.30 on Wednesday (the 23rd) evening, and witness stated that it was arranged that if he thought it necessary to open the abscess then he would do so. As to the delay, the witness said that there was some, but that it was due to the fact that he was in the middle of an operation when the woman arrived. When he' s;\w her he thought her condition unchanged. Dr Adams, acting resident as j sistant surgeon at St. Thomas's Hospital said that after examining Mrs Williams he felt perfectly convinced that she woub" not recover, unless something was dor.t immediately by operation. Almost at thestart of the operation the patient became hud, and died in about fifteen minutes. In answer to further questions by the coro- i nor. the witness said that it was of im- 1 portance that the operation should be performed early, but there was great difli- \ culty in arriving a.t a diagnosis. j