Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1881.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 176, 26 July 1881, Page 2

Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JULY 25, 1881.

We have Jeceivcd a cor y of the report on the? Lui!3iii>. Asylums cf the Colony by the ia'e Dr Sksie. Inferring to the Nelson Asylum he says :—' Though full, it is not crowded, nor likely scon to b'ecoma p.o -, the bath rooms and lavatories are Email and badly constructed, and there In a want of suitable rooms for violc-nr, destructive, and noisy patients; Plans for an addition containing such rooms, new lavatorips, and bath?ootns are nowbeiDg prepared. Uuless more land can be got for this asylum it would be obviously improper ' to increase its size. The number of patients on the Ist January was 60, namely, 34 males, and 26 femaieß. During the year five males and nine females were admitted for the first time, and three of each sex were re-admitted. Altogether SO were tinder treatment ; of these, 6ix males and four females were discharged as recoveicd, and three of each sex died, leaving at the end of the year 33 males and 31 females. The recoveries were 60 per cent on the admissions, and the deatha 9 per cent of the average number resident.. Dr Skae encloses entries made in the hook by Mr Joseph Mackay, ihe Deputy Inspector, from which the following are* extracts : — " Everything connected with the management continues to be most satisfactory: all books and papers relating to patients were found correct. I saw all the patients, and uo complaints were made to me by any of them. The whole of the premises have been thoroughly overhauled by the pitients under Mr Miils's direction, and are now in excellent order. Owing to the limited extent of the ground belonging to the Asylum, the difficulty of finding suitable employment for the patients is daily increasing, and I would again urge the necessity of securing a few acres of ground ia the neighborhood as soon as possible. I believe the outlay might be made partly reproductive (if not wholly ), as even now Mr Mills raises more vegetables than the patients can consume." * * * * " Without wiabing to exceed my duty, and to interfere in a matter which does not directly concern me, I c*nnot help recording that in my opinion the 10 per cent reduction boars very heavily on the attendants here. Considering the nature and extent of duties required—-! he attendants have to watch during the night in turns — the salary scale in ihU asylum could hardly be called ex travapanc before tho redueiion was made. Should the reduction be enforced, I am afraid the inducements will not be sufficient to attract th? right sort of men to the service, nor to make them take that amount of interest which is desirable. I have only to add thnt I fail to see why attendants in other asylums in the colony should receive more for their services, even after their salaries have been reduced, than the Attendants here received before the reduction wa3 made." Commenting on the foregoing DrSkaesays: — " With resp-ct to the want of sufficient ground for the employment of patients, commented upon in the above entries, and previously reported by myself, steps are beiog taken by the Government to obtain an orchard of some five acres in extent, conveniently situated behind the asylum ; but although this would certainly have been a considerable acquisition, it was not thought worth the money asked for it, and its intended purchase was abandoned. Apparently there will be a great difficulty in getting a sufficient extent of suitable land in the ncighbourhcod at a reasonable price, and the want of this is a very serious disadvantage to the asylum. Referring to the De-puty-Inspector's remarks about the wages, I also think that they are too low, and have recommended thit those of the male attendants should be increased to £70, and understand that it ie your intention to have thisdoao. Mr Mills, the Superintendent, has forwarded plans prepared by himself, together with a requisition for she necessary material for a biliard and reading room, which he undertakes to erect by asylum labour. This would certainly be a mos^. desirable addition to the building, but, considering the great expenditure necessitated for things which are absolutely indispensable, it does not seem advisable to recommend this work for your apiroral at present. The defect in the water-supply, formerly reported upon, still continues, and apparently cannot be completely remedied, "except by adopting the proposal of the District Engineer to bringing iv a supply from a neighbouring creek, at an estimated cost of about £600, in addi'iontothatof acquiring the right to monopolize the stream." Considering all the circumstances there is a peculiar interest attaching to the late Dr Skae's remarks upon the Wellington Asylum which were written two months after the publication of the report of the Royal Coramission and about a month prior to his death. In the course of these he says : — It is impossible for me now to report on this asylum without going over the whole grounl covered by the report of the Royal Commissioners, who recently investigat; d its management, and entering into a discussion for which this is not the proper place. I wish only, with reference to the subject of restraint, to make one or two remarks. Although this was latterly used to an unusual extent, and more tban appeared to me necessary, yet on no occasion whatever, so far as I am aware, was it used in the case of any patients in such a manner as to cause the slightest pain or serious inconvenience ; and, believing, as I still do, that both the Superintendent and the Medical Officer were fully alive to the importance cf resorting to its use as little as possible, and that they would not employ it except where it seemed to them necessary, I did not. in any case, feei it my duty to insist on its disuse, or to take such steps aB would have indirectly compelled these officers to act in a matter of great responsibility against their own judgement. To use a homely phra9o, "you cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear," and nothing could be more unreasonable than to txpect that in a wretchedly-constructed building, perched upon a cutting on a hill-side, where there is not even room to make an airing-ground, you can carry out in its entireiy the same method of treatment which, amidst immeasurable difficulties, risks, and anxieties, is pursued in the splecdid asylums of England by accomplished and resident ptusicans, with large and highly-trained staffs of attendants Nearly £12,000 have now been spent under my directions in altering and enlarging this socalled a?ylum, and you are cow going to endeavour to complete its transformation by j spending some £5,n00 in further alterations, and to place it under the charge of a resident physician. When these things are done it may be possible to cany out the non-restraint system in the treatment of the patients ; but I have no hesitation in saying i hat to insist on (he- non-restraint system in such an asylum as this has hitherto been, would simply mean to insist on broken ribs or something worse." rtrTT il i 111, i •Itr.i 'i — niim -tiiiiiiii mm-iTTTTr«» ■- ..