THE HOSPITAL INQUIRY

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5287, 19 June 1895, Page 2

THE HOSPITAL INQUIRY

THIS DAY.

Dr Giles, the commissioner appointed to inquire into the administration of the Cbristchurch Hospital, resumed his sittings at the Provincial Council Chamber at 10.30 a.m. to-day. Dr Murray-Aynaley called. Richard Westenra, who deposed that he was chairman of the Charitable Aid Board. He remembered a man named ; Frederick Montagu coming to the Charit- : able Aid Committee on May 30 last, • asking for assistance. Some short time i before he had applied for blankets to ! enable him to leave Cb.ristcb.urch to get i work. He had got the blankets. He i Btated that he had got work at Belfast, and 1 that owing to. an accident to his arm, he 1 waa unable to continue. Mr Joynt objected to the evidence, as not being relevant. The Commissioner thought the evidence waa admissible, as affecting the credibility of the witness. • Witness continued: Montagu stated that owing to his bad treatment he was unable to -work. The Charitable Aid Board referred him to Mr Herrick. Montagu mentioned the name of Dr Murray- Aynsley as having treated him. He said that he intended taking proceedings againßt .the hospital authorities for maltreatment, and that he had been advised by Drs Stewart and De Eenzi not to take any proceedings till after the inquiry. . Edward William Seager, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he was frequently at the hospital after eleven in the evening, and had alwayß Been the doctor perfectly sober. Andrew M'Nicol, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he wa3 a patieat in the , hospital for an ulcerated leg in April, 1894. He had no difficulty in getting into the . hospital. The treatment was good, and . the food was splendid. He was on milk \ diet. . | The Commissioner : Are you going to ■ call everyone who had been admitted tc ; the hospital without any difflonlty P I Mr Loughrey : No, but this gentleman i volunteered hiß evidence. ) To Mr Maude: The matron used tc ; come round in the morning and looked ■ after things. \ Dr Edward Gain, called by Dr Murray ■ iynsley, deposed that he had often been ■ at the hospital, and had always fonnd the doctor quite Bober. On the day of the ; laying of the foundation-stone he stayed ; and dined with the doctor, who waß then ; perfectly eober. Witness left about i 10 p.m. To Mr Caygill : A number of people j stayed after the ceremony, but witness 1 was not with them. .

Dr Hacon, called by Mr Looghrey, de« poaed that he had often met Dr MurrayAynsley, and had never seen him the worse for liquor. Witness had been, physician in the Ohriatchnrch Hospital, and had t watched its career for fourteen years. In j hia opinion the question of whether young j women should attend operations waß best left to the matron, even to the presence of a probationer in the operation room. No decent probationer would | offensively put herself forward, bnt every probationer would wish to learn all possible, and from what he. knew of the present matron of the Christchnrch Hospital he was sore she would be the laqt person to attempt to compel a young woman to do anything offensive. To Mr Joynt : He had eeen operations sin the hospital recently, and ' had been very much pleased with the improvement in discipline and in other ways. He could not fix the date* He had thought that an inquiry was necessary, and he had asked for one. In consequence of the rumours prevalent in Christohurch, he thought that there should have been an inquiry before Dc Murray -Ay neley took office. It was wrong of the Wellington authorities to allow Dr Murray- Aynsley to take office without holding an inquiry. The President of the New Zealand Medical Society, in his address in January, 1893, had demanded an inquiry in the interests; of the medical profession. Witness was not then in the Society. He wbb in favour of the Hospital Board being elected by the ratepayers, because if they did not do their duty they could be kicked out. He did not consider that the Board's method of action in the appointment of the honorary staff was unfair. He would suggest that the test of medical gentlemen's past work, the production of testimonials, should be the grounds of the selection. With regard to procuring supplies if large quantities of stuff . were required it was far better to contract for them, but a steward should be allowed a great deal of latitvde, and to purchase small quantities. Contracts, however, should be at a fair and proper price : he would go for good articles rather than for low price. He could not understand how a pauper could be buried for 2s or Is 9d till he had seen the report of the Commission, and that had shown him how it was done. He thought it disgraceful that the Board should have accepted the contract. He remembered the case of a lad whose legs were mutilated in a tram accident at New Brighton, early this year, he thought. Witness heard the boy screaming, and drove to the hospital and got some chloro- 1 form, which he administered to him in the waggon. The boy was taken to the hospital, and witness was disgusted to find j there was no reception trap to put mangled caseß on, and a proper reception room. There was some delay about his getting the chloroform, and the people seemed to look on him as a sort of interloper. The boy was taken to the ward. It would have been much better for him to hare been taken at once to the operating theatre. Witness had reason to believe that the boy was operated on after lunch. He came in at 12. Whatever opinion witness might have held as to the administration of anaesthetics, since he had seen the present matron do it he thought it reflected the greatest credit on her. Still, he thought the anaesthetic should be administered by a second medical officer. Dr MurrayAynsley should certainly insist on the appointment of a second medical officer. A woman, not a duly qualified medical practitioner, should not administer anaesthetics except in the presence of the medical officer. It was not advisable that the offices of house steward, secretary and treasurer should be vested m ono man. To the Commissioner : After a Bhort delay he said he desired to say what he

knew of thn management of the hospital when Dr Murray-Aynßley came on. The Commissioner said he must preßs he question. The witness said that Dr MurrayAyiisley when he came on made a state*

ment to him, and said that he would swear

to it at a public inquiry. The Commissioner : Have you any per* sonal knowledge P

Witneßs: No.

TheCommioßioner ; Why aid you object P Thon you have nothing but hearsay. I aaked what you kaow of your own knowledge.

Mr Joynt said that what Dr MurrayAynsley had siid to the witness mi^ht be very important.

The Commissioner asked if the statement made by Dr Murray- Ayneley referred to his own (Dr Murray-Aynsley'a) conduct? Witness: No.

The Commießioner: Then the proper course is for me to ask Dr Murray-Aynßley on the point.

Mr Joynt submitted that the ComtnUeioner should ask Dr Murray- Ay neley what he bsd said to Dr Uauon, aa it affected the management of the hospital. The Commissioner said that he thought that could not bo dose, at all events till after he had asked Dr Murray-Aynßley what he had said.

Charles Hood Williams (called by Mr Loughrey) deposed that hia eon, who had been injured in the switchback Occident, was in t.he bo piial from Oct. G to Dec 9 last. His son received the came treatment aa the other patients, which. witness considered excellent. Witness had twelve aad a half yaare' experience in the office of the Provincial Secretary, under whose administrative control the hospital then wns. When ho viailed the hospital last year ho wao atruck 1 with the immcTiße improvement which had taken place. "Witneoß frequently B aw Dc ftfurray-Aynsley, who was always sober. To Mr Maude : His eon was taken in by the back way in t(io ambulance stretcher.. 1 be road was quite smooth, and his son did not complain in any reapect. . To Mr CBjiiill : Did not remember Lieut. Smjlth being present at the time.

William M'Gregor, called by Mr Loughrey deposed that be bad been a patient in the hospital for inflammation of' the liver , in January and February last* The attention wrb first-class. The doctor 'was very kind, and came in the ward every morning and evening, and asked each one how be was getting on. Witness heard no complaints. Tne food was first.olass. He never saw conger eel, bat saw flounders, herrings , and molri. He had coon aa many as five dishes of meat .' and fish on the table at one time. On one occasion he saw the matron at once Bead back a leg: ot mutton whioh was not properly cooked. He never saw the doctor, the worae for liquor or smoking in the wards. To Mr Mautfo : The matron would come around every day and ask each patient if hewas comfortable. . . To Mr Joy at: H« was five weeks in thff hospital. Tne numes wore very attentive to him— Nur«) MR >bbie and Probationer Seeley and othcra. The treatment wa» far batter than be gob iv the hospital in 1861. When he whs last in the ward waa very fall, and he c&ms out, of his own accord to mkfce room for. others. To Mr Btringer: Nurse Medlam woe in the ward in wlu'eb he was in in 1834. >To Mr Caygill: In the evening the doctor usually came to the door of the ward and met; the uureo, whd reported, t-a him how things warn. William Crowo,'callad by Mr Luughrey* deposed that be ha<l been a patient in the hospital for ten weeks from July 13 last. He had no oomplaio.ru to make. He was in No. 6 ward, and Sister Medlam, the doctor, and all ware very kind. To Mr Maude : Tne matron treated him I eplendidiy. She was a perfect lady, and I was very kind in her manners to everyone. Thomas Preston, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he had bee > a patient in the hospital for four mm ths and a half from April 4. 1891. He could not hava been trtattd better, and the food was firat-class. He was on fall diet except for twelve day«. ' He hud never seen the doctor tho worae for liquor or smokin? in t.h« wards. To Mr Joyct: Nu<se Knight was his i nuißi. She we very attentive and kind [ indeed. Sonubiihes the puddings were ft 1 tble watery. He never saw bad nor badly cooked fish. He had seen conger eel there Robert Fcwey oalled by Mr Longhrey dejoied thai uh had been a patient in the hospital tor five weeks, from March, 1894, and a month from Feb. 13 last. The I at'entiQn was very good, and he had no complaints to mak*>. H«d never aeen the doctor the worse for liquor. To Mr Joynt : There was an improvement in the general routine— -in food and attention in 1895. To the Commissioner : In 1891 the puddings were sometimes a little watery. The nurses were always extremely kind. Jane Mitchell deposed that her husband had been in the hospital in August last. ' and had been treated very well indeed. She had seen the food. It was very good. To Dr Murray-Aynaley : Dr Stewart had seen her and had asked her how her husband was get ing on. He had said that he thought the operation had been post- : poned too long. This was about three months ago. George Maslin, oalled by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he had been a patient in the | hospital in July, 1898, and twice this year, for twenty-one days and eleven weeks. The treatment each time was excellent. He had been on full diet part of the time, and the food was good, except that the puddings were sometimes watery, fie had seen the doctor in the evenings, and had never seen him the worse for liquor or smoking in the wards. . To Dr Murray-Aynsley : He met Frank O'Neill after he came out, and O'Neill said that the nurses were getting up a oaBB against the doctor, and mentioned the nameß of Nnrse Medlam and Brown. O'Neill said that witness must have remembered the doctor being drunk in 1893, and witness replied he did not. O'Neill said he would get him a ponnd if he would come to Mr Hunt's office. Witness did not go. O'Neill said witness wbb to get the £1 if he would say the doctor was drunk. He said that Brown and Medlam would give it him. To Mr Joynt: Witnesß had not been better treated this year than in 1893. The puddings were coloured, but not with eggs. Tho fish was uncooked sometimes— when it wsb thick fish, like oonger eels. He only saw that the last time he was there — within the last two months. The herringß frequently came up much broken and with the scales on, co that he could not eat them. He complained to Nnrse Merritt, who got it altered. No one was present at the conversation between O'Neill and witness. Frank O'Neill, recalled, stated that the last witness bad mot him outside the Hereford Hotel, and had said there was gr<jat trouble about the hospital, and had said he would not give evidence as he did not know how soon he might be going back, and that if he did he would be on the doctor's side. Nothing was said about giving him a pound. To Mr Stringer: Nothing was said about Naree Medlam and Brown getting up a case against the doctor. Witness had not asked him if he had seen the dootor drunk, but had talked to him about the doctor having in July, 1894, threatened to turn him out of the hospital for smoking in the corridor. Witness had had nothing to do with gettifig up evidence in this inquiry, and had not taken witnesses to Mr Caygill or Mr Hunt. He had not discussed hospital matters with Dr Stewart. or Mr Brown. Hans Peber Bundersen, called by Mr Lcughrey, deposed that: ho had been a patient in the hospital for three weeks in October last. The attention was very good, and the food was good. Eber Watkins, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he had been a patient in the hospital in January and February last, and did not see how the attention conld be any better. He had never seen the doctor the worse for liquor, or smoking in the wards. Henry NewJanda, deposed that he had been a patient in the hospital in 1893 and in 1895. The attention was good and the

food was Al to him. He had sever seen the doctor drunk, or smoking in the wards. Edward Bowley, called by Mr Loughrey, depoßed that he had been in the heap tat for nineteen weeks, from Feb. 16, 1893, on account of an accident at Little River. The attention could not have been Letter. The food was very good indeed, and he never saw the doctor the worse for liquor or smoking. . To Mr Joynt : Nurses Medl«m, Knight and M'Kobbie were his principal nurses ; they were very good indeed. He did nor. remember more than one complaint about the cooking. Jane Newman, called by Mr Loughwy, deposed that her husband and two children had been patients in the hospital. They had every care. The matron was very kind to them. Mr Lougbrey pnt in the sworn declaration of Mrs Hepworth, to the effect that she had been a patientjn the hospital in 1893 from March to August, and had never seen the doctor the worse for liquor. Edward Brown, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he had been a patient m the hospital from Dec. Ito March 19 last. He had received excellent attention, and the food, especially the meat, was very good indeed. He had never seen the doctor the worse for liquor, or smoking. To Mr Maude: The matron waß very kind indeed. Patrick Ryan, Thomas Lucas, Louis Ferdinand, Robert Wardrop and William J. Falloon deposed that they had been patients in th* hospital and were quite satisfied with the treatment and food. Afternoon Sitting). George Herton, called by Dr MurrayAynsley, deposed that tea or eleven years ago one of his children had been taken with a violent fit of screaming. He tried several ways to stop it, and finally did so by throwing a small quantity of water in her face. The Commissioner said that he did not require any further evidence on the cold water point. Witness deposed that he had often met Dr Murraj-Aynsley, and bad never seen him drunk. Lonis Maurice Williams, called by Mr Lougbrey, deposed that he had been a patient in the hospital on account of an accident on the amtchbauk. He was treated the same aB the other patients, and considered the food very good, except fish twice, when it was slightly tainted. To Mr Maude : He was admitted at the back of the hospital, and felt no inconvenience,from the road. - . To Mr Joynt,: Nuraes Medlam and Hiatt, and Probationers Pilliet, Palethorpe and others attended to him. The nursing was very good and the nurses worked well together. He bad . fruit, and sometimes new peas and new potatoes, Bometimes sor.t in by his friends, but no fish or fowl. It was known in the hospital that these things were sent' to him, and they were not taken from him. Adam Beck, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that he and his wife had been outpatients at the hospital. Hia treatment by Dr Murraj-Aynsley had beeD attentive end Jrind, and everything ha could expect. His children had been in the hoopital as patients, and had been very kindly treated. Mary Ann Beck, wife of the last witness, gave corroborative evidence. Alexander Hamilton gave similar evidence. Louiea Goodwin, called by Mr Loughrey, deposed that, about two years ago she was cook in the boppital for two months. She had been taught to be a cook, aud had been employed in several gentlemen's houses in Christchurcb. She left the hospital of her own accord. When she went in eho found the kitchen and pantry very dirty and infested with rats. She complained to Miss Steel, and asked for a woman to ttlean up. A woman was sent and cleaned oat the pantry, but that waa all. Mies Steel said the Board would not send any more help, and that witness would have to take her time to clean up. There was no pastry-board or sieve, and no meat-board in the meat pantry. These things were supplied, and the nurses afterwards began to complain about their food. The doctor and matron did not complain, and the patients said that their food was very good. The stove was a very bad one, and the boiler in the kitchen leaked, so that they could not get a supply of hot water. The meat on one day had not been cooked because the coal was wet. Afterwards the rice waß not cooked because the steam for heating had been turned off. The nurses Bent their food back on several occasions, and three or four times they had reason, because the meat waß not cooked. Things went on in thiß unsatisfactory way, and so she left. She had only spoken to Mr Bf own once— at the gate. He had put hie hands on her, and she told him not to take such liberties. After that the food tegan to be cent out from the nurses' room. That was when ehe had been there about a month. To Mr Joynt : She had to cook for over one hundred persons, and had a kitchenmaid and a Boullerymaid. She had not enough help. The scullerymaid was not efficient, and the kitchenmaid had to help her. It would require a very strong woman or strong man to do the scullerymaid's work. Mr Miller sent a man to patch up the wall with some tin, and this kept out the rats. It waß unavoidable, under the circumstances, the food should be undercooked. The meat waß very good indeed, but* several times the fish and poultry were high. She was there in the winter time. Mr Harris was the butcher, and 'Mr Warnes the fishmonger and poulterer. The flab, and poultry complained of were taken away and others sent instead, but these sometimes came back too late to be properly cooked. TJnless the Hoose Steward had seen the meat and fish before it arrived afc the Bcullery door, be could not have seen them afterward b. Vegetables were brought in by the gardener, bub she never inquired where they came from. They had enough vegetables, but not a' great variety. Once the nurseß complained of the soup, but the patients did not complain of it, nor of the fish being undercooked. When the nurses complained of the soup the dootor, who had some of the same, said it was very good. The nurseß did not baye nee ; they did not have the same puddings as the patients. Witness complained to the matron of the fish, but nothing was done. The doctor was far more easy to please about the food than the nurses were. To Mr Stringer ; Brown did not annoy her on any other occasion. Nurse Medlam came to the kitchen and objected tc certain dishes which witness had been ordered to make, and witness told her to go to the matron. Witness objected to patients and nurses coming into the kitchen, and the matron gave orders that they were not to do so. Nurse Medlam persisted in coming to ask for different food than what was Bent to the table, and witness alwayfl referred her to the matron. To Mr Caygill : She did not know who of the staff, except Nurse Medlam and Mi Brown, complained. To the Commissioner: She thought it very unfair that the cook had not the control of the steam used for cooking. It was turned on and off at the engine-house, and there were no means of turning in on <w off in the kitchen. Joseph Fergußon, Frederick A. Delamare, H. Overetfd and Peter Darling gave evidence similar to thab of the other expatients called by Mr Longhrey. Mortimer Davie, called by Dr MurrayAynaley, deposed that several of hiß friends had pointed out to him that they had formed the opinion from reading the report of the proceedings that he had assisted in framing the "Tongariro" letter. He wished to say that he had nothing to do with it. Dr Stewart had never Bpoken to him about the matter; before the appearance of the letter, but had asked him after that bo write a letter on similar lines. ___ - ___^_________