THE HOKITIKA HOSPITAL.

West Coast Times, Issue 591, 16 August 1867, Page 6

THE HOKITIKA HOSPITAL.

Having received a communication signed *• Miner," containing serious eomp'aints aflveting the management of the D^rict Hospital, besides directly refleenng liton the professional ability of th- Surge n-Supenntendent, Dr Ryley, we deen.ed it our duty, before publishing the letter t- , if possible, ascertain how far the statements of our correspondent were borne out by actual facts, and to that end instructed our reporter to wait upon Dr Ityley and obtain permission to personally inspect the interior of the Hospital. He did so, and the result of lus mission we publish below : —

EEPOBT.

According to instructions I proceeded to the District Hospital yesterday morning, taking boat at Gibson's Quay stairs and was ferried across to the South Spit by a sturdy waterman who on this occasion at least earned his fare, as he rowed again stabitterstonnofrainandsleet, sleet, that came up from the south just as we started. So much as already been written concerning the Hospital, that the public are by this time pretty well informed as to its position, and outward appearances. It would, therefore, be surperfluous on my part, -q enter into descriptive details, so I shall confine myself to what I heard and saw in the inteiior of the building, upon the threshold of which, I was met by Dr Eyley, who was then making his daily round of the wards, and upon ascertaining the object of my visit, courteously - invited me to accompany him. I may state that according to original design the Hospital was built with two wards, designated the Surgical and. Medical — both magnificent apartments, connected by a long corridor, which is flanked by and opens into a range of offices, consisting of bathroom, closets, warders' apartment, kitchen, reception-rdom, and dispensary. The two wards were intended for the reception of males, and thus by a strange oversight no accommodation was provided for female cases. In those days women were scarce in the land, and consequently for a long time after the Hospital was declared open to the public very few if any applications for admission were made in behalf of the sex. But the rapid increase of the female element rendered the construction of a ward for females imperative, and after much procrastination the Government consented to partition off the end of the medical ward- into an apartment large enough to contain seven beds. This was d> >ne, and a female ward provided. It was soon occupied, and since then has never been free from patients, of whom there are now six undergoing treatment. I d'd not inspect this part of the establishment, but was informed by the doctor that the ca>?es were one of pneumonia, one of rheumatism, one of skin disease, one of abscess, in the back, one a compound case of rheumati-.ni and scrofula, ad another of typhoid fever and syphilis. The two l^t-mentioned are very bad cases. The remainder are progressing 'favorably, and will be soon disposed of. The Hospital is entered by a porch lpad ng into the corridor, along which I followed the doctor — who was attended by the dispenser and wardsman -to the medical ward. My first impressions upon entering it were decidedly favorable, the room and everything conlained therein being beautifully clean; sheets and pillow-slips of snowy whiteness ; whilst a comprehensive glance round the beds disclosed, suffering it is true, but suffering home with resignation and even cheerfulness. The patients ■n ere evident ! y contented, and I noticed with some surprise the almost total absence of that fretful expression peculiar to the faces of men afflicted by bodily ailments. Order and quietude reignedsupreme, not a voice was heard save in repiv to the firm but kindly questioning of the doctor, 'i he ' piteous moans" described with so much feeling by " Miner," were certainly wanting on the occasion of my visit, the patients rather discovering symptoms of sound and suec^s'ul treatment. This ward is furnished with either seventeen or eighteen beds, of which fourteen were occupied by men generally miners, their complaints being confined totypohid fever, bronchitis (mild and severe), that too prevalent scourge rheumatism, and a case of erysipelus, ■which, on account of the danger arising to wounds of-all kinds from its infectious nature, lißd been removed from the surgical ward immediately subsequent to the performance of an amputation. Attended by the Dispenser bearing the casebook, and the wardsmen, Drliyley vi>ited the patients in succession, examined them, made minute enquiries ag to their feelings, how they had passed the night, &c, the symptoms and answers to main qnp-tions being noted by the Dispenser. Where it was considered necess iry to change the medicine, the doctor dictated the prescription, which was recorded in the case book, and also any little sppciality determined upon in the way of diet. Printed forms, filled in with the name, nationality, occupation, age, complaint, and religion of the patient, together with' the date of his admittance weiv hung at the head of each stretcher, to which is attached those things likely to be conducive to the comfort and convenience of the sick. Bearing in mind the main object of my visit, I followed the doctor round the wards and made a few enquiries of eacli patient, the replies being invariably of the same tenor — " Thank you, lam very comfortable ; the attendance is good; I have nothing to find fault with; the diet is excellent." These assertions were substantiated by the appearance of the patients. The inspection of this ward being completed, we proceeded to the surgical ward, which is much larger, and contains from twenty-four to twentysix beds, eighteen of which were occupied. A similar routine was gone, through, by the doctor and myself, my queries being responded to unhesitatingly and in favor of the management of the Hospital. The patients looked very well, and are all either convalescent or progressing towards that staje. -Of the eighteen cases in this m ard, two are fractures of the arm, one fracture of the collar bone, one compound fracture of the leg ; this is a very sad case, the subject having hroken his leg somewhere near Ross, and was removed to the there, where the broken limb was set, but so imperfectly, that the man will be a cripple for life. He was afterwards romr.ved to the Hokitika Hospital, and under skilful treatment, is in a fair way towards recovery. Another case of broken leg resulted in paralyses of tho lower part of the body. The poor fellow is mending apace, but his entire recovery will be a question of time. There are also two cases of injury to the kneejoint ; two of abscess ; one of ulcer, and on<s severe bruise. One unforiunate lost his right fog a few days since, and is slowly recovering. "Whilst we were engaged in this ward, a poor fellow was brought in from the Waimea district, suffering from a Broken leg. He

seemed very much exhausted, and gave me to understand that he was a miner, and whilst sluicing in German Gully on Tuesday was strucK down by a_ falling tree, which severely bruised him and broke his leg. He was removed to Hokitika ;he same day, but in consequence of the lateness of the hour and state of the tide, his arrival at the Hospital was delayed until yesterday. Besides the above cases, there are five of muscular rheumatism in this ward.

Accompanied by Dr. Ryley, I next visited the Lunatic Asylum-r-a small building erected a short distance from the Hospital. Cleanlinqas and order prevailed here in a no less degree than in the wards, and the unfortunates under treatment for the most dreadful of all human maladies appeared to be deriving much,benefit from the skill and attention bestowed upon them, There are six inmates, of whom four being afflicted with a mild form of lunacy only, are in a fair way of recovery. The other two are aggravated cases — one likely to result in confirmed madness — the other in death,as it is a compound case of insanity and affpption of the lungs that terminated in dropsy. The scene in the interior of the Asylum was certainly not in keeping with the ideas generally entertained of such a place, the patients being quiet and subdued, and. with one exception, rational in their conversation. A lurking devil was, however, perceptable in the glance of each eye, but kept in thorough subjection by the firm, but mild course of treatment adopted. And yet these men were susceptable to the kindly and softening emotions of human nature, as evidenced by the manner in which they fondled and played with a little girl, the daughter of the head attendant. The exception I have alluded to above was in the case of a swarthy individual, a native of Guernsey, suffering from religious monomania. He believes himself to be inspired, and declares that his mission here below is to compile a work that will supersede the bible. I never witnessed suclra combination of pride and enthusiasm as that displayed by this man, whose dark eyes absolutely blazed as he stalked up and down the narrow passage leading from the room we were in. When spoken to, he replied by demanding instant release, in order that he might proceed direct to Wellington, as there, and there only, could he give birth to the work that was fated to revolutionize the world. Very pitiable was the appearance of the sixth unfortunate who, confined to bed, lay helplessly imbecile and bloated with dropsy. His articulation was nearly destroyed by the dreadful disease that preyed upon his iungs, and yet he struggled to speak cheerfully, and gazed in the doctor's face with a look full of lingering, wistful hope. Poor fellow ! his days are, I much fear, numbered.

I left the Asylum firmly convinced that it was excellently managed, and so completed my inspection of the Hokitika Hospital, which, although a commodious establishment, so far as its main features are concerned, is lamentably deficient in those minor arrangements so essential to promote convenience and comfort. I allude particularly to the offices which are neither more or less than a range of miserable little colls, utterly unsuitable for the purposes for which they wore constructed. Imagine a .room nine feet long, five feet wide, and about eight feet high as a sleeping-room for two wardsmen, and bath-rooms seven feet by five feet. The dispensary is also wretchedly insufficient in point of size, and the accommodation provided for the dispenser nnd house steward is scandalous, as th^y are condemned to both sleep and eat in the same apartment which is about large enough for a single-bedded room. I also think that an immense improvement would be effected if a few yards of matting were laid down in the wards and through the corridor, to doaden the sound of footsteps which ring upon the hard floors and reverberate through the building to the great disturbances of patients, many of whom suffer from complaints that demand perfect quietude and freedom from agitation. The sides of the wards also require lining, to prevent draughts that now penetrate through many a chink, the wood having munh shrunk since the erection of the building. The Hospital staff consists of the surgeon-superintendent, dispenser, house steward, matron, five wardsmen — four for day and one for night service — two attendants for the Lunatic Asylum, and two boatmen.