MAIN TRUNK DISASTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18460, 25 July 1923, Page 11

MAIN TRUNK DISASTER.

• . '■ '. TREATMENT OF INJURED. HELP AT THE HOSPITAL. SUPERINTENDENT'S VIEWS. A RELPY BY DR. VIVIAN. '■ [11l : TEX.EGRATH.— 'cORRESFONDKNT.] < TAUMARUNUI. Tuesday.- . The adjourned coronial inquiry . into the "deaths of the ; victims of the raiiway disaster at Ongaruc on July 6 'was con-. tinned at the Courthouse by the?; district coroner, Mr. A. S. Laird,, to-day. • Inspector Foully represented the police authorities, while ; Mr. Isaacs; appeared for the Railway Department. , ■ ; - 'J. ;:::;.; v!' Dr. Wei by Earle Fisher,/ 1 medical (superintendent of the Taumarunui . Hospital, described the - work of attending to the injured at the scene of the accident. "Witness received information : from Dr. Bathgate as to what ' had ; already • been done. The work of the doctors took them into the wrecked carriages, where witness assisted to remove some of the dead and injured. He conferred with the assistantengineer in charge of the operations, to j arrange for the - speedy transfer of the injured, who were lying on mattresses | exposed to the cold, to the Taumarunui Hospital. . Witness arranged with Dr. Howard, who arrived by the second relief train, to proceed -to the Ongarue end, where soma five of the injured required attention. ; He arranged with him to follow on: to the hospital subsequently. Dr. Bathgate and Dr. Vivian boarded the return train with witness, with all the. injured : available, , and - administered .to their well-being on the ■..return journey. But three of the patients died on the journey. Upon arrival at the. Taumarunui station, witnnssr arranged with Dr. Vivian to attend to transhipment, and. follow on to the hospital with Dr. Bathgate, while witness proceeded there in one of the first ; cars ,to receive patients upon arrival, and give directions for their first ( care and treatment. A number of cases, were suffering from the effects of shock and exposure, and these exercised his , time in the ■ first- place. Witness then . detailed injuries which :■ caused the deaths of the victims.

Not. Detrimental to Patients. Witness made arrangements with all the medical men to go to, the hospital. Dr. Bathgate went away to have a ''.refresher " after his arduous morning. Shortly after arrival, Dr. Vivian informed witness that he wished to get, away, and did not think he would be required. He asked witness if there was anything particular to be done, and • this .witness - was unable to specify, . indicating that all one coi:!d do at the, time was as he himself was doing-—to go over the cases and. render , necessary ; r ; attendance for shock, and so on. - '' ,' s ''. '"'■■ All the injured .up to this time had received the necessary first-aid attention. Dr. Vivian" 'he would be prepared to return later on, when deliberate operations were performed. ; He exercised his own judgment in leaving or Dr. Bathgate was ; sent: for at the same time as Dr. Vivian; Dr. Howard came up shortly;" after "the arrival of the second relief 'train.- . -' , ' I - The Coroner:. Would • a shortage of medical men for that two hours be detrimental to .< the patients No, J cannot say that. I understand Dr. Vivian left the hospital because he had other pressing business to' attend to. •-,-,; /Hercould have occupied himself as I_was doing,; examining the patients, r administering restoratives, and-• generally preparing for the operations to follow. ./From: the public point of view Dr. Vivian may > have erred m judgment. ' ■ / l "■■ /" Nursing Staff's Good Work, * It certainly was . no desire of witness that he should go away, but on ■'. the contrary that be should remain. The nursing staff did excellent work, both' hospital staff and . assistant nurses, under trying and strenuous conditions. All were working at high tension... '■'■.-.. .-'/'■-■■:■ .To Inspector ;Fouhy, witness said that when the bodies got to the hospital wit; ness : was practically in charge. > It- was not unprofessional \ for ■ Dr. Vivian to retire, but witness would not have done so himself unless it was a /matter of life and death. -Dr. Vivisp did not say where he was. going. Nothing more could-have been done for those who died. / : Doctor Howard \ stated " that he arrived inTanmariinui from; the scene of the accident on , ; the second train about 12.30. Dr. Fisher did not arrange with witness to go to the hospital on his return. Witness \ arrived at the ;' hospital about three o'clock. / If Dr. Fisher invited witness to go to the hospital, he did not hear him. . Witness may not have heard him-, as his hearing was defective..' Witness telephoned' to the hospital after lunch, and asked if he could be of any service. He received a reply in the affirmative. Witness agreed with Dr. Fisher that the period of waiting before witness arrived had not been detrimental to the condition of the patienta. ;i - / I Ir. Vivian's Statement." //

Dr. .'Eric Vivian, in evidence, described he work of,; the doctors ' .at ? the scene of the accident,, and the , ■ arrangements , for the despatch of the injured by the first rescue train to*Talimarunui.y When the train reached -Taumarunui witness first of all saw the patients moved from the. Iront guard's van. Dr. Fisher then suggested that witness -should stay, on the platform until - ail ! the * injured y had r been removed. As soon as all the patients had been removed, he went straight to the hospital, and reported to Dr. Fisher. Dr. Fisher gave witness the impression he wanted an anaesthetic given immediately, and waited for some time while Dr. Fisher went round examining the cases. Witness then approached Dr. Fisher again. He was stillji;;busv;,i;'■ examining some .patients. Witness was given no indication as to the patients who had been attended; or otherwise on his arrival at the hospital. On approaching Dr. Fisher the second time, witness intimated that if there was nothing to be done in respect to. administering an anaesthetic :he .would go away, and could, be got on the telephone. Witness waited at the hospital for . an - hour before leaving it- ' ~ " Entirely Different Views." '" To the coroner, witness said: I agree with previous witnesses that the delay was not detrimental to the injured. - In my opinion,' patients suffering fromjshock are; not in a condition to have immecuate drastic treatment, but should be J eft for some time until they recover. T think the public who suggested that the patients suffered by reason of any delay that occurred after . their admission into the hospital have a wrong impression. On returning to the hospital, I received definite instructions as to which patients I was to attend to. On reviewing matters now, lam of opinion that more trained nurses should have beep procured although the hospital staff- and volunteers did excellent work: Witness then described the injuries suffered by the killed. -•'-_•. '■'.''' To Inspector Fouhy. witness- said h« voulti not undertake attention at iha hospital , without; Dr. Fisher's permission. Had witness been the medical superintendent, he would have got all the medical skill available. Witness would give .a general direction on arrival as :to what work there was to do. Witness left the hospital after he had waited up there for about an hour, for the reason that the definite thing which he had got ready ftj. was not • being gone on with, ; and it seemed to him that the superintended was going round examining all the. cases. There seemed nothing definite for him to do, so he informed the superintendent how to get him if he was. wanted. Dr. Fisher evidently realised this, for_ later he summoned witness. Witness did not think he had been slighted, though be thought. Dr Fisher and he took entirely different ,view* oh the matter. rt . ! Cohstab'e: Mahon'ey, stationed at Ongarue." described the rescue work at the scene of the accident, The injured., lie said, received every possible attention and no irreverence was: shown to the '.dead. He considered- the railway officials worked very hard to get the rescue train contain- '-: ing the im'nred. away quickly. The hearing i will .be: , continued tojawrrowi;' -'-■'' - '