TRENTHAM CAMP INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2519, 21 July 1915, Page 8

TRENTHAM CAMP INQUIRY

HOSPITAL CRITICISED

'•WOULD NOT BE TOLERATED . IN THE ARMY"

THE EPIDEMIC

HEALTH OFFICERS BARRED FROM HELPING SOLDIERS?

The Trentham Camp Commission continued its inquiry into Trentham Camp affairs yesterday. His Honour, Mr. Justice Hosking presided, and the other members of the Commission were: Dr. A. A. Martin, of Palmerston North and Mr. W. Ferguson, of Wellington. The Wellington City Engineer, Mr. W. H. Morton, gave evidence. He said that he had had seventeen years' military experience here and in Australia. His experience included a knowledge of camps and barracks. At the request of the Minister of Defence. ho had conferred with Dr. Frengley and Mr. ■J. Campbell regarding tlio construction of the hutments at Trentham Camp.

Respecting the camp - hospital, Mr. Morton was asked: Was any indication given to you as to the purposes of this hospital. He stated that all such information came from Dr. Frengley. 1 Dr. Martin: What was discussed at a meeting of t'ho board consisting of yourself, Dr. Frengley, and Mr. Campbell? What was .to be tho nature of this hospital—what kind of cases? •

Mr. Morton: It was to be for emergency cases.

If a man got his skull smashed by (say) a kick from a liorse, was he to be token to this hospital?—"l understood it was to bo-for minor accidents."

Are you aware that the medical profession subscribed a largo sum for tlie erection of this hospital?—"l am aware of it only through the newspapers." Were not any of them called in and consulted?—" Not that I know of." Did they ever have a plan submitted to them?—" That I could not say. Dr. Frengley may have consulted them.' ; What was the date of the first meeting of this hoard? —"I should say it was somewhere about May." • Have you'seen the hospital recently? —"No; only from a distance." If the work had been pushed on, it would have been built by June 27. Is that your opinion? —Mr. Morton said that lie could not give au opinion. .'Mr. Ferguson: Do you consider that two months was a sufficient time to allow for the construction of the building, seeing that the Public Works Department was carrying on a large amount of works in the neighbourhood, and absorbing large quantities of rna-i terial?

The answer was effect thai two months was an insufficient allowance of time. i

' Mr. Morton added that he could see no reason ufc nil why tho camp should not bo thoroughly sanitary. He had been thoroughly satisfied with the drainage system, and he was not aware that any insanitary condition had arisen out of it. He could .not see any reason why tho' hutments should not bo satisfactory. He had anticipated that complaints. would bo made, particularly regarding the ventilation arrangements, for somo people could not sleep in fresh air. He would Hot have the least objection to sleeping in one of those hutments.

Huts Overloaded, and Officers' Bad Example. Dr. Joseph Patrick Frcngloy, Deputy Chief Health Officer for New Zealand, said that lie had been asked to go into the matter of the hutments with Messrs. Campbell and Morton. The plans disclosed that tho hutments were being built on the open-air principle, whick was by no means now to Now Zealand. Such plans were really the result of much work by officers of the Health Department, and had proved very satisfactory at Cambridge. He had thought that huts which were suitable for delicate peoplo would not do any harm to Ifealthy men. Fresh air would not do-anyone harm. He denied that there was too much ventilation in the hutments, and .urged that if the men were cold the' remedy was to.provide them with more blankets, not to reduce the amount of available air. He had always regarded the hutments as ."partially • permanent" structures. There was a difference between air space and available air, and in-the Trentham hutments much attention was paid to the latter. ' Tho air-openings were larger than the openings provided in English hutments, and more air circulated. It was wrong to put more than fifty men in a Trentham 'hut. On the night of Juno 29 (a muggy, calm night) he visited the camp «n<i-inspect-ed ono of tho huts. He found that there were fifty-five men in tho hut. He had never been consulted as to whether more than fifty men should he put into one hut. Hc had always regarded fifty as the maximum. He had been informed that they, had had more than fifty in the huts.

His Honour: Who would be responsible for more than fifty, men going into the huts?

Dr. Frcngley: I should say the medical officers. ' They certainly should have been consulted.

His Honour: Was that after the inspection had started? —"Yes." Dr. Martin: This may be tho sub-, ject of a definite charge against either the medical or the military authorities. Would you mind, giving me the name of tho dootor who went round with you? Dr. Frengley: Certainly—Captain Bogle, in the presence of Major Stout and Captain Simpson (now with the Hospital Ship). Can you-give/me the name of the military orderly officer?—"l cannot." You say that if the military did not consult the medical men the military were responsible?—" Yes." Can you say if they did consult them? —"I think I was told so, but I cannot assert that, as I am too indefinite about it."

However,- you see the point—it is a definite charge?—" Yes." Dr. Frengley proceeded to say that he had inspected that hutment on that particular night because there had been mention of there being too much ventilation. His visit had convinced him that there was not too much ventilation.

To Dr. Martin: At that time everyone concerned was becoming a littlo nervous respecting the sickness in cajnp. His Honour: Did you try another hut? —"Yes, and found oi\ly 33 men in it." . .

Any.other huts? —"Yes, then I tried the sergeant-majors' liut (the sample hut. in which a, number of mistakes wero made in construction), and I found all the openings blocked up, and all but one of the 18 movablo windows closed. The result was that in this hut, with only 19 men, tho stuffiness was so great as in the liut in which there were 33. I considered this a very bad examplo to t-lio men,-when tho'officers kept all their windows closed on a night liko that, and thought that it was detrimental to the health of the camp." His Honour: Did you niako -this known? —"I-reported it to'the Defenco Department in writing." Dr. Frengley Says Alter the Huts. • Dr. Frengley said, that he would liko to urge' the Commission to alter tho 'Ilia -fiuggeation. ,had

been made and promulgated throughout the country that Trentham Camp was nothing more than a death-bed,' and much of the criticism had fallen oil tlio huts. He held that that suggestion was at the present moment reducing tile resistance power of the men, although the suggestion itself was rubbish. In plain language, the whole country was in a funk over Trentham Camp. Ho would suggest also that tho number of men in each hut should be reduced lrom fifty to thirty, and that they should, be given stretchers instead of straw to sleep on. Originally, ho had suggested straw instead of stretchers because infill had to become accustomed to active servioo conditions.

His Honour's comment on the suggestion to use stretchers was that men could not bo expected to go from feather-bod conditions to the firing line. Dr. Frengley also . suggested that flaps should bo used for the permanent openings, and should bo under tile control of a responsible officer.

His Honour: Are you not in a position to make this recommendation at once?—"lt has been made."

The witness went on to say that influenza, pneumonia, and cerebro-spinal meningitis were not associated, with insanitary conditions; it seemed that t'hey had been carried to the camp. He pointed out that within the last six months there had been in the Wellington district influenza of a very severe type.

Asked what the origin of the Treiitham Hospital was, Dr. Frengley said that a plan had been shown him embodying t'he proposals of Colonel, Purdy, Major Elliott, and another person. That plan was submitted to Mr. Campbell and witness, and it was regarded by them as unsuitable, aJid a new plan was made. He understood that the hospital was to be regarded onlv as a camp hospital, and the base hospital was to be the- Wellington Public .Hospital. No major surgery would be done there; minor operations would be performed. Provision was made for tho carrying out of. case isolation ;• that was to say, thero were four rooms for men whose cases might bo thought to bo infectious. Eighteen beds were provided. There was, also, room for from two to six cases on the verandah, quito independent of the - inside accommodation. In the event of an urgent major operation at the camp being necessary, it could have been done at-tho hospital. In reply to Dr. Martin, Dr. Frengley said that the hospital would be able to deal with urgent serious cases for operation. He did not think the light good enough for serious operations, but the best would have to be made of it;

Dr. Martin: D.o you consider it right to have just an emergency hospital at a big camp? .

Dr. Frengley replied affirmatively, and referred to the absence of serious accident cases at Trent-ham.

Dr. Martin: Yes, but it is a common experience of all camps 'that they occur, especially where there are horses.

Dr. Martin: This building cost £2800. Do yoir consider that a fair price? Dr. Frengley : ! think it, a very high estimate. I cannot understand where the money went, but I do know that the cost of hospital buildings has gone up considerably of» late. Dr. Martin remarked that the -hospital would not be long tolerated m the Army.

To Dr. Martin: The-Health Department knew that measles were among the men, including the men on the ships, as far back as October last, and the services of the officers of the Department were offero:!. However, the Health Department was in the position tliat it could do nothing. • Dr. Martin: Therefore, the Health Department is in this position: they recognise that a very -grave epidemic is going on at Trentha-m, but their hands are tied, and they can take ao action at all.

Dr. Frengley:.That is so; we are outside.

The Health Department were willing to lotp, aaid anxious to do Soj but could not.come in?—" Yes."

And that owing to the fact that tho illness ,was amongst men serving undor the colours?—" Yes, that is 60."

Huts "Dangerous' antf Unsatisfactory." Charles Holmes Sewell, in charge of the' underclothing at Defence Stores, described the sj'stem of supplying goods to Trentham camp. The Commission regarded tho system as unsatisfactory, and decided to call two other members of the Stores Branch this'morning. In the course of his evidence, Mr. Sewell said that onco when Trentham applied for 6000 blankets they should have had that number and a surplus of 1809 besides, already in the camp stores. So far as he knew, that surplus had never been traced. . .

Regarding the supply of boots, Denis Hannan, of the Defence Stores,'deposed that as soon as the boots ccune to hand they, were sent to the camp. .■ Tho .Rev. D. 0. Bates, Director of the Meteorological Office, produced. records or tie Trentham weather since October last. He said that on the whole it had been a mild and fair season, jog's aro very prevalent at Trentham in the evenings and in the mornings. He had had oxperience of such huts and- tents as those at Trentham both ir. Australia and in South Africa d-uring the Avar. ■He examined the huts at Trentham, and regarded them as dangerous andl unsatisfactory. They would bo draughty in stormy weather,; and very chilly and insanitary in calm or damp weather. Corrugated iron would intensify every change of temperature. In days of bright sunshino the huts'would 'be excessively hot, and at night be excessively cold. The walls and roof would radiate an enormous amount of heat from tile building, and make it a real freezing chamber—much colder than outside. If the roof only were protected with a non-conductor, the sides would set up serious conduction currents. Te men would wrongly regard these as cold draughts, and' attribute them to too much ventilation. Neither the soil nor the climate of Trentham could be blamed for the sickness there, but want of proper precautions and provision for the large body of. men. He regarded the hutments as unsatisfactory because there was a. minimum of comfort and privacy at a maximum of cost, for galvanised iron was now quoted at about £32 per ton. There was no storm-water drainage at the camp, and mud and' . tiny pools lay about. He thought a. competent man with a little common sense could in half an hour do as much' in a good rain as a wholo squad would do in a day of fine weather.. There appeared to be no .barrows or carts .for the men who worked with earth and stones, and ho regarded labour and fatigue duties at the camp as wasteful and trying.

Dr. Martin: In your opinion are the authorities to blame for choosing Trentliam as a camp site?

Mr. Bates: Not at all. It is a. splendid 6ite. Its one disqualification is its flatness.

The Commission stands adjourned till to-da v v.

MEDICAL REPORTS. ON HOSPITAL ARRANGEMENTS. Tho Hon. R. H. Rhodes has, asked Colonel Batchclor, tho well-known Dunedin doctor, who returned from Egypt by tho Willochra, to visit the Trentham Camp, and report to him upon the arrangements there and the genera] health affairs of file camp.

The Minister, in accordance with a request in the Houso of Representatives by Dr. Newman, lias also asked Dr. Batchelor, and Dr. A. A. Martin to furnish to the Defence Minister, tho Hon. James Allen, a report upon tho hospital arrangements at the front-.