Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULIA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13,1886.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXIX, Issue 11128, 13 February 1886, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle. AND PATEA-RANGITIKEI ADVERTISER. "NULIA DIES SINE LINEA." SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1886.

The Wellington Hospital patients are surely preserved in spirits. The con-, eumption of liquors of all descriptions in that institution has given it an inebris ated reputation from one end of the colony to the other. It is only a few months ago that its resident surgeon, a highly qualified medical practitioner, fell a victim to the popular medicine which is there prescribed so liberally for the benefit of the patients. The fact is, that the extent to which invalids are drugged with intoxicating liquors in some of the colonial hospitals is painfully demoralising to those who are subjected to it, and is moreover nothing less than a pieoe of culpable extravaganoe on the part of those on whom the responsibility rests for authorising and sanotiouiug the existence and continuance of such a state of things. In most plaoes committees of management seek to eschew all responsibility for the liquor bill, by arguing that the matter is one that must be left entirely to the discretion and oontrol of the medical officer. That excuse may have answered in the past, but it will not suffice in the future, seeing that the light of day is now being shed upon the abuses of the drink consumption in hospitals, and the whole questi n is being brought within the range of experience and common sense. Where doctorsdiffer materially, oommon sense men must form their own opinions ; and certainly on the question as to the necessity or desirability of prescribing intoxicating liquors in quantities, medioal men differ as widely as possible. What is the varying consumption in the hospitals of the colony we should like to know, but have not within our reach the means of ascertaining. We append, however, a very instructive table, contained in a letter published in the New Zealand Times, by Mr P. H. Eraser, the chairman of the Wellington Hospital Committee, showing the relative consump* tion per head per annum in the Wellington Hospital as compared with the Melbourne Hoepital and a number of hospitals in England. Taking the number of beds occupied as the basis, the consumption per head is as follows : —

£ s d Wellington Hospital ... 4 8 0 St. George's Hospital, London 2 16 6 Liverpool Northern Hospital 2 10 0 Northampton Hospital ... 2 6 8 Melbourne Hospital ... 2 5 9 London Hospital ... ... 2 4 0 General Hoßpital,Birniingham 1 12 0 Liverpool Southern Hospital 1 11 11 QueenlsHospital,Birmingham 1 10 4 Newcastle Hospital, England 18 0 Manchester Eoyal Hospital 12 4 Southland Hospital 0 14 2 Edinburgh Hospital ... 0 19 0 Leeds Hospital 0 10 11 Sunderiand Hospital ... 0 9 0 Taking the number of in-patients treated during the year as the basis, the consumption per head is as follows \ — £ a d Wellington Hospital ... 0 14 10$ St George's Hospital, London 0 4 8£ Middlesex Hospital 0 4 2 Melbourne Hospital 0 3 8 Liverpool Southern Hospital 0 3 4 University Hospital, London 0 2 7{ Queen'sHospital.Birrninghatn 0 2 1 Southland Hospital 0 1 6£ Edinburgh Hospital 0 15 Westminster Hospital.London Oil "Manchester Infirmary ... 0 0 9£ Leeds Hospital 0 0 7|