CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10600, 8 March 1895, Page 4

CHRISTCHURCH HOSPITAL.

It is understood that there is after all to be no public inquiry into the allegations made by anonymous newspaper correspondents and others against the management of the Christchurch Hospital. Mrs Grace Neill, of the Labour Department, has made a private investigation into the working of the institution, and has reported, we presume, to the Inspector. To this part of the proceedings no one cau reasonably offer any objection, There is probably no one in the colony better qualified than Mrs Neill to get at the truth concerning the various matters that were submitted for her consideration. Her womanly tact and natural ability, added to an intimate acquaintance with hospital management, mark her out as the person above all others who should be able to prepare the way for the formal inquiry. But it was never contemplated, either by the public or by the hospital officials, that the matter would be closed by this lady’s report. Tho document may he all-sufficient from a departmental point of view, but people who know nothing of Mrs Neill’s qualifications will naturally object to the secrecy with which the investigation has been conducted. It is probable, too, that the staff of the institution, at any rate the doctor and matron, will be dissatisfied with the character of the inquiry. The reason given for the Inspector’s inaction is that the charges against the staff are so utterly frivolous that it would be a waste of time to consider them for another minute. But the public are not inclined to accept a reason of this sort until it is supported by indisputable evidence. They want an opportunity to judge of the facts for themselves, and until they obtain it they will regard the management of the hospital with a certain amount of suspicion.