TRENTHAM HOSPITAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17230, 5 August 1919, Page 8

TRENTHAM HOSPITAL.

TREATMENT OF PATIENTS. v ALLEGATIONS INVESTIGATED AN OFFICIAL CONTRADICTION £UT TEXJSGBAaia.—own cokhespoxdext.} WELLINGTON, Monday. , A statement was made by Surgeon- , General McGavin, director of medical . services, to-day, in reply to accusations made last week concerning the treatment ' of soldiers in the Trentham Military Hos- [ pital, and the state of their bed linen, etc. General McGavin stated that be had i received a detailed report from Colonel [ Wylie, officer commanding Trentham Miii- , tary Hospital, on the subject, and he de- > sired to make its contents public, so that 1 the people of New Zealand would be able - to judge the position! for themselves, j i Colonel Wyli-j formerly commanded No. 2 j 'New Zealand General Hospital, at . Brockenhurst.. Iu his reports Colonel Wylie stated that when, he saw the ,re- , port published, the morning after the ■, narrator's visit, he immediately gave inJ structions that no clothing was to be re-1 5 moved from the wards, and no alterations ' made in the arrangements, and himself •' went round and made a very, complete ■ inspection. This inspection was made 3 within 24 hours of the visit in question, | and, therefore, before any of the causes of • complaint . could have been removed. ) Colonel Wylie, as the result of his visit, replied to the various charges made as \ follows : — (I) That.the underclothing supplied in ' Ward 1 was insufficient in quantity, t poor in quality, and dirty.— Each man in this ward was inspected by me this ' morning, and his underc othing carefully _ examined. In no case was it anything , save satisfactory, and the statements concerning the quantity, quality, and cleanliness are quite contrary to fact." ) (2) Insufficiency of washing appliances. ', _*< There are four wards in use at present. i At the washing lavatories there were i basins as fellows at the time of my inspection: Ward I—l2 basins, Ward 2—5, j Ward s—ll, Ward 4—6.'\ (3) That in Wards A and B there was a . gap under the eaves.—" This was specially > left there for the purpose of securing t cross ventilation. (4) That patients contracted colds as the result.—?' Only one patient in two wards f complained of receiving treatment for cold, and he returned from peace leave witb * one." (5) That the doors are without knobs or . handles.— There is only one door in the block minus a handle. This is being re- . paired." [ (6) That a bath was used as a slopsiuk by nurses.—" Slops are not emptied into a bath." ', (7) That there is no barber.— i " Every endeavour is being made to obtain a barber, and applications have been made to the R.S.A., to the Barbers' } Union, and elsewhere to get one." } (8) That bloodstained and dirty sheet* f and pillowslips were seen.—" AH the i. linen, dirty and clean, in Wards A and k B, and in their linen cupboards, was I } seen by me to-day, and none has been removed since yesterday, and I can only say % that the allegation is quite contrary to ' fact." (6) That offensive matter was left lying ' about.—" This was materia! awaiting ' pathological examination. It was in no ' way offensive. It is kept in proper containers on a shelf for this purpose." (10) That the hot water system ia deplorable." To earrv hot water from the bathroom and kitchen a distance Of a few yards is net a hirdsh'p." (II) Issue of seeks.—" Plenty are avail- . able." (12) Supply of firewood.—" For the past six weeks flrewod bis been cut by detention labour. When wood is carried into the wards it is only done by those oaißabie of such work, and is a matter of orctmi ary hospital routine, involving hardship Ijto no one. No patient who is unfit is ever asked or permitted either to cut or carry firewood, j General McGavin said it would be seen from the above how far the charges were j merited. He had no objection to invegtij ■ gation of any charge that might be pre- } erred, and to having the fullest publicity I I given in the public press, but he ques- , i tioned very much whether such publicity I was in the interests of the men and tfct ir , 1 relatives. He did so for the reason th it , such pub'icity n the press was Unsettling . , to patients in hospital, and, therefore, not k good for them, that it disturbed and upset the staff, and that until a reply wi\fl given it was alarming to the. relatives and friends of the patients. He emphasised the fact that every opportunity was always given to the men to complain, and that in the present instance no complaints such as were lodged by an outside source were received. "*? l y!y"" l f'"'""*'*'' 585i555555g