THE HOSPITAL INQUIRY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6689, 25 September 1882, Page 3

THE HOSPITAL INQUIRY.

REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE. The Committee appointed to inquire into the management of the Wellington, Hospi al have, after lengthy debate, adopted a report for presentation to the City Council. Tile following are the salient points of the document The Committee report that they have held nine meetings, and examined 48 witnesses, whose evidence, taken by a shorthand reporter, is attached to the report. After. recitiiig the circumstances leading up to the ad iptidn of a resolution, “ That complaints had been made which bad been considered by the Committee, in consequence of which they considered there were sufficient grounds to justify their advising the Council to hold a formal inquiry, but that the matter would be adjourned for seven days for further inquiry,” mention is made that Dr. GUlon declined to rest under the serious implication contained in this, resolution, and demanded an immediate and formal inquiry.

The report then recites that three considerations have to .be borne in mind as I bearing materially upon what subsequently transpired ; allowed to withdraw his resignation ; (2) That Dr. Gilion recommended that 'he should be allowed to withdraw itand (3) that fhs Subcommittee consented to the adoption of tha . coarse. ' 1

It must have been at once apparent to any peißon of ordinary perception and calm judgment that there bad been a disturbance of the ordinary - and proper relations which ought to exist between the Resident Surgeon at d the Dispenser. It must have been equally clear that this disturbance of the official harmony was spetddy set right by the Resident Surgeon and the Dispenser themselves, in a manner satisfactory to them and not injurious to the interests of the institution, j

There the matter should have been allowed to rest, but the embers of dissension were fanned by some indiscreet person or persons; 1 and the difficulty was reopened by a'statement made to this Committee, at its request; by Councillor Diver, on the alleged authority; of the Town Clerk,' which state nent in substance amounted to charges of this nature : , 1. That Dr; Gilion’s temper unfitted him to occupy tbs position of Re.ident i.Surgeon. 2. That his constant absences from the Hospital amounted to reprehensible neglect of dmty. ' ’ ' The Committee do not find, that: either of these charges is sustained. Referring to the radical change in the mode of managing the Hospital decided on by, the Council',' the Committee say the male attend-ants-were .dispensed with, inefficient female nurses ehgaged in', their stead, the head nurse was overworked and resigned, her office being, abolished, and there were other mani-festations-'of dissatisfaction and discontent.

The effect of these irritating influences, as they effected Dr. Gilion, is best ! explained by . the; evidence of the witnesses ; examined by the Committee. Mrs Baillie' says:— “Dr. Gilion was basty and quick .tempered, but there were many things occurring to put turnout.’.'. . He did his best to carry out the Reorganisation Report faithfully'. . He was sharp, at times and dreadfully economic.’’ Mr. Hodgson says—“ In the, conversation which I had with Mr Graham (which I regarded as private and confidential)' X mentioned that. Dr. Gilion was often hastytempered, but no doubt his temper was tried, as well as mine and ( other».” Being questioned upon the statement made by. tho Town'Clerk aind repeated by Dr. Diver, he said, “I never wi-hed ;to make any . charge against Dr, Gilion, 'and never krada any. If I ‘ bad any charge, I would have come up and made it,ibut I have none.". Subsequently, Mr Hodgsoh admitted that the' statements of the'Town 'Clerk were virtually correct.' ’ ’ A careful'scrutiny of the .evidence of the patients, pa-t and present, shows one unbroken line of testimony to the complete- absence of any exhibition of harshness or hastiness on the part of Dr. Gilion toward them ; and the officials themselves, who appear to'be the only persons who have spoken upon this subject, admit that the hastiness of temper to which they referred was due to Dr.. Gillen’s anxious desire to give effect to instructions contained in r the Reorganisation Report, - It is also worthy of note that tbe' complaint-book, whi.h has remained at the door of tbe Hospital for eighteen months, contains only one

entry—the complaint made, by .the patient Stace against hir discharge by Dr.lDiver., '

‘ .The Committee, therefore, are of opinion tha( this charge must’be 1 pronounced to have fallen to the ground. , ’ The! second charge, relating to Dt_ Gillon’a freqqent'absences from the Hospital, is more easi y disposed of., Rule 7, Part XV., says the “Resident Surgeon shall reside continually in the Hospital, and shall not absent himself frorn ic.witliout acquantibg the House Steward or Matron whore' he may'be found.” There is .no pro’pf whatever that this rule has been’vibJated. Mr Hodgson, the person; with whom ‘tbq, .chargeis .said to have originated, gave this evidence on the’ pointl never'said that Dr. Gi Jon was in the habit o!f leaving the Hospital. There is no troth'in it. . , ,; . I- : never said that Dr. Gilion !was always absent."

Some. other.evidence of a secondary nature Was given in regard to what Mr Hodgson “was said to have said ” upon this point, bht Mr Hi dgson himself was the only parsin' capable of giving direct evidence upon the question, and his evidence was very cally against the allegation. The Committee, therefore, dlsmin this

charge fiom their minds without further comment. Tbia disposes of the specific charges against Dr. Gilion himself, i Following upon these came a number of very serious allegations, made by Councillor Ne-vmvi, against the whole management of the institution. These statements not only brought the institution into disrepute locally, but made the name of the Wellington Hospital a reproach in all the large centres of population in the colony, where they were published by the newspapers as statements of tact. It will perhaps assist to put things in their proper light if Councillor Newman’s position in the matter is clearly expl »iued. It should not be forgotten that “ his own feeling for some time had been that the Hospi al had been badly managed !'’ This expression of opinion came with singular infelicity from Councillor Newman. On the 16th December, 1881, Councillors Newman and Diver were appointed permanent members of the Hospital Sub committee. The other members served on the Sub-Committee by turns, according to rota, but Councillors Newman and Diver were appointed permanent members, in order that the Council should at all times be able to avail itself of their expert knowledge and advice in the prevention of abuse or mismanagement of any kind whatsoever. The specially-defined duties of the Sub Committee are —“.To visit the Hospital and attend to internal management.” Since the 15th December, 16 meetings of the Sub-Committee have been held. The attendance of the permanent expert members and of the Mayor has been —Councillor Diver, 12 ; the Mayor, 6 ; Councillor Newman, 4. Clearly Councillor Newman, having accepted the po.iiion of permanent member of the Sub-Com-mittee, was barred from playing the part ol public accuser ; or, having elected to take up that positi >n, his allegations, if they fell with any force upon the institution —and it is uudoubte 1 that they did—ought to fall with t«n-_ fold force upon himself. If he knew that “ for some time past the .Hospital had been , badly managed,” the confession did not come from him with a good ■ grace, for his attendance at four meetings out of s xteen does not.display an a'arming amount of interest ,io tha welfare ■ of the institution, an 1 the Committee .nufh-r- 1 stand it to be Councillor Newman’s interest in 1 the welfare of ihe institution! which 1 him to make the statements. J

Finally, the principle charge having been proved to be baseless, the. remainder vanished into nothingness. The “ hardships endured by patients ” were unknown to the patients themselves until they saw the statement in. the newspapers ; the supply of milk was short on one particular day on account of the difficulty which the contractor experienced in getting a large supply ini the dead of winter j and one child was found to have vermin on her. The butter, it is true, was sometimes bad, and the meat was not always well cooked, but, the Committee believe that the public do not expect, and will not demand, that a prolonged investigation shall be held every time the butter is bad or the cooking defective. These are matters which the Sub-Committee .may well be left to deal with.

After careful consideration of all the facts, the Committee have come to the conclusion that the charges made against the. Resident Surgeon, and against the Hospital itself, have no foundation in fact. They further wish to express their regret that an,institution Which is in every sense a credit to the city should have been brought into disrepute by the circulation of statements which, if true, would unquestionably rtfUct the greatest discredit, not only upon the Hospital officials, but upon the City Council, whose duty it is to see that the affairs of the institution are economically .and efficiently-administered, and that the requirements of the sick poor are not neglected or forgotten. To sum up the results of. the investigation, the Committee have decided, in the interests of the institution, to suggest the following changes for adoption bj the Council; 1. That there should hie no permanent [members on the Hospital Sub-Committee, tint that all members of the Council shall take, their turn on the rota in the ordinary manner.' 2. Therejwas no evidence'before the-Com-mittee as to fees having been , paid by poor patients, but, in order tb avptd all. questions in future as to the ability of a patient to p.y Hospital, maintenance, or medical fees, it is recommended that a new- form ‘of admission-

order be drawn up, which 'Shall ■ cohtaiii these' questions to be answered by the member of Council who gives the order Can patient pay ordinary Hospital miiiitenanoe charges! Can patient pay medical fees ? • 3. That the recognised staff-it nurses be strengthened by the following appointments Uue additional head nurse (iemale),* either for surgical or medical ward ; one addition-tl under-nurse, for, ,NV, ,1 ward; and one pan to attend tb door And' fever ward, and incidental services., ~, , , 4. That all communications from the Reddent Surgeon lon-irKttets of importai.ce -be.first laid before the S.ub-Cvmmittee, Town Clerk to act only ih cases of 1 bhiergency, and then only after consultation with the Mayor or two Councillors.: , ~ ~ ■ ;

5. That at the expiration of the term of office of the present honorary staff, the ,term of office be two years instead bt five, as at present.

6, The Committee desire farther to [ express their opinion that the Sob-Committee should hold their meetings at tha Hospital,’