TIMARU HOSPITAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LI, Issue 5600, 5 February 1879, Page 6

TIMARU HOSPITAL.

The Hospital Commissioners, Messrs T. W. Hall (Chairman), H. Belfield, E. Archer, E. LeCren, and his Worship the Mayor, attended at the Hospital on Monday to inquire into the circumstances connected with the death of Peter Cassidy. As the Commissioners had not applied for a special commission authorising them to summon witnesses and examine them on oath, they merely put questions to those who were present, with the following result:—

Dr MTntyre, the Yisiting Surgeon, said in his opinion it was not necessary that the deceased should have been confined in a straitjacket. He considered Cassidy ought to have had more attendance during the night. He did nqt think the strait-jacket, though unnecessary, would have done him the slightest injury. It was typhoid fever of a slightly infectious type that Cassidy was suffering from. The sleeping draught would do him no harm if judiciously administered. The Steward ought not to have used the strait-jacket without his (the doctor’s) instructions, unless the man was very violent. It was left a good deal to the judgment of the Steward, whether a mau should be watched and fed at intervals of, say half-an-hour, during the night. It was the night-warder’s duty to attend to patients during the night. The orders which he (Dr MTntyre) gave in regard to Cassidy were carried out. He saw Cassidy on Friday evening about five o’clock, at his own house, and sent him to the Hospital. John Joseph Daily, Steward of the Timaru Hospital, said that the reason why Cassidy was not attended to during all Friday night was that the night-warder had been helping his wife (who was nurse) all the previous day, she being overworked. The nurse sat up in the same ward as Cassidy till about 2 o’clock on Saturday morning. The man died about 7.40 a.m. The warder was getting breakfast ready at the time. He (the Steward) was called about 7 a.m., and told that Cassidy was very ill. He went to him at once, and gave him some wine. He did not think the man was very bad when he came into the Hospital. He did not leave instructions with the night warder to sit up with him after 2 a.m. The warder, he supposed, must have overslept himself, as he did not take his wife’s place when she left the ward. The warder had been up half the previous night, and had also been assisting his wife during the day. There were two or more small spare rooms in the Hospital, and had he known that Cassidy was suffering from a contageous disease he would have put him in another room. He did not recognise the nature of the disease, but had a suspicion that he was suffering from typhoid fever, owing to the appearance of his mouth.

Dr MTntyre, in answer to further questions, said that the only thing he had to complain of was that the man was neglected after 2 a.m., but still he did not think such neglect caused his death. If a Resident Surgeon had been in the Hospital, it was not probable that the strait-jacket would have been used.

The Steward then farther stated that Cassidy had the strait-jacket on all night, and it was only taken off after 7 o’clock the next morning. Dr M'lntyre here said that in his opinion the time had now arrived when a Resident Surgeon should be appointed. In reply to a question, the Commissioners were informed that the patients Dear and Woedfield, who had given important evidence at the inquest on Saturday week, had since left the Hospital; and the Chairman stated that they had no power to fetch either of them into town again to give evidence, Patrick O’Connor, another patient in the Hospital, was then called in, and staled that he had slept opposite to the deceased on the night he died. Cassidy was not in his right mind, but he was quite harmless, and not at all inclined to be obstreperous. The jacket

vfasipnton at nine 6’islook 6n Vritof taigtit: by the Steward, the warded, ‘and the wardoress, but Cassidy got it off. It was then put on again muoh tighter by the two latter. Cassidy said it hurt him, and asked, fora knife to out the string*. Ho saw Cassidy refuse to take a sleeping draught. Ho did not see him gst any food during the night. Ho (0 Connor) was awake all night. Tho nurse was in the room, but not near Cassidy. She left it between one and two o’clock on Saturday morning. After that no one came into the word till about 7 a.m. Tho night warder then appeared, and observing that Cassidy was in a very bad state, cut the strings of the strait-jaoKet, and sent for the Steward. Before it was put on him he got out of bed once or twice, but went book again when told to do so. The first time he got out, he proceeded to pack up his blankets. Cassidy shook very muoh after the jacket was taken off him at 7 a.m., but did not attempt to get up. The Steward was here re-called, and stated that he did not know how often the nurse gave Cassidy beef tea during the night, but he had given her general instructions to let the patients have it if they would take it. According to such a prescription as that given by the doctor in Cassidy’s case, for the latter tohaveSozs of wine and beef tea, he (the Steward) would give an dunce of wine at each meal, and the tea three times a day. In reply to further questions, Dr MTntyre said that ne did not give definite instructions as to beef tea being given every half hour or so, because he did not consider it necessary, as tho nurse should know thst a man in Cassidy’s state should hare it whenever he could take it.

The Steward stated that the doctor’s instructions as to beef tea being given to patients were general opes, and did not specify how often per day or hour it should be supplied. It was, however, for him (the Steward) and for the nurse to know whenever a patient wanted it, or could take it, it was to be given,'. Dr M'lntyre said he .had never beep in the habit of mentioning the particular tiroes at which beef tea. should be supplied, because he could not say. how often, a patient might be able to take it. > . ' .

In answer to a question, the Steward stated that when Sozs of wine was mentioned in a prescription he understood it to mean that that quantity was to be administered daring the twenty-four hours, and that, therefore, he would not be justified in giving more. Mrs Tompkinson, the nurse, and wife of the night warder, was next called, and said that she sat up with Cassidy until after 2 o’clock on Saturday morning. He got some soup at dinner, but she was not sure if he got any afterwords. Ho received 2ozs of wine up to 2 a.m. Her husband was unwell from overwork, and that was why he did not take her place after 2 a.m. Cassidy was wandering in his,mind, but was not violent. , Once he laid across another man,, but she believed he miatook the bed for his own. i

This concluded the inquiry, Mr LeCren stating that he considered they should write a very strong report to . the Government re tho necessity for a Resident Surgeon, and for more assistance as . regards warders, and so forth.

After an adjournment and some consideration, the Commissioners came to the followingdecision:— “After carefully making inquiries re the death of Peter Cassidy in the Timaru Hospital, consider that it is to be regretted the Medical Officer, in sending the man to the Hospital, did not state specifically the nature of the disease and the specific dietary scale for the patient, considering the Steward had so little experience in such cases. Had such information been supplied, he (the Steward) would have been able to have acted with more caution, and had the man isolated and attended to. As it was, only general orders were given respecting the deceased. From his behaviour after being a short time in the Hospital, the attendants naturally thought the man was suffering solely from delirium, and the use of the strait-jacket was therefore resorted to. The Commissioners consider the gravest and most painful charge was in leaving the man in a strait-jacket for so long a time without anyone in attendance, although the Medical Officer states this treatment in no way hastened his death. The Commissioners think the Steward highly blameahle for neglected attendance, and further desire to record that if was the duty of the Medical Officer, knowing the condition of the deceased on his admittance to the Hospital to have visited him that same night.”