The Wellington Hospital.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1679, 27 February 1885, Page 2

The Wellington Hospital.

One of the blood poisoning cases in the Wellington Hospital —that of Mr Bade—has terminated fatally. Mrs Bade died on Monday morning. The other two infected cases are still in a very critical condition. Some correspondence from Dr Chilton and the hospital officials ; also a letter from Hr Bell who sent the woman, Kate Kelly, to the hospital, have been published. It appears from these letters that Dr Bell sent the woman, Kate Kelly, to the hospital, because she was very ill and the case was an urgent one. He asserts that he did not know that the woman was suffering from puerperal fever. When the woman was admitted to the hospital Dr Chilton was absent, and did not return for nearly three hours. Meantime the woman Kelly had been placed in the female ward without undergoing a medical examination. Afterwards, she was examined by Dr Mackellar and Dr Chilton and found to be suffering from puerperal fever. By that time the mischief of spreading the infection had been accomplished. There appears to have been a gross neglect of duty on the part of the hospital authorities. Had the surgeon in charge been at his post the woman would have been examined on admission, and when found to be suffering from puerperal fever, could then have been placed in a position of complete isolation from the other patients. There has always been mismanagement in the Wellington Hospital, and this last is just another instance of it.