WELLINGTON HOSPITAL INQUIRY.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1389, 8 September 1885, Page 2

WELLINGTON HOSPITAL INQUIRY.

At (he Wellington Hospital inquiry on Friday the members of the honorary staff were examined. Their evidence generally was that Dr Chilton had lost their confidence. Ds Levmge, temporary medical offn er at the Hespilal, also bore testimony as to tho habits of Dr Chilton. considered the management had been wasteful and extravagant. With regard to the dismiss il of the nurses, Miss Marsden had represented to him (Dr Levinge) that she believed the nurses were being interfered with by certain parties in the Hospital in such a way as to be subversive of discipline. He represented this in turn to the Colonial Secretary, and the upshot was a visit to the* Hospital by the Under Secretary and the Inspector of Hospitals, culminating in some of the nurses and officials being dismissed. The Chairman of the Hospital Committee distinctly said they were to be dismissed that night. He did not make enquiries as to where the nurses had to go when turned out. He considered that the duty lay with the person giving orders for their dismissal. The enquiry was adjourned until next day. At the Hospital inquiry on Saturday, the Rev. Father Moore deposed he had never seen Dr Chilton actually drunk,, but he was under the influence of drink when witness was attending a dying [girl in tbo Hospital.

Kennie Mclntosh, a nurse, deposed to Dr Chilton’s intemperate habits. She was aware of no irregularities in the institution except those of Dr Chilton. She had several times seen him very rough with patients, and on one occasion he doused a patient with cold water, leaving her to lie on wet sheets. She remembered two girls leaving the Hospital on account of the doctor’s treatment and manners. She called Dr Chilton one night to a serious case of pneumonia, but he refused to come. Margaret Sheedy, dispenser at the Hospital, deposed she knew nothing against Dr Chilton except by hearsay. She had never seen him under the influence of drink or noticed any roughness or unkindness on his part to patients. She denied the statement made by Miss Maraden concerning the conduct ot the nurses. Miss Marsden had no consideration for the nurses, calling them on one occasion to work all night after a tiring day’s nursing. She distinctly denied alluding to the doctor at any time as “ that drunken man.”,; Lizzie McDonald, a patient, stated that when in the Hospital her treatment had been very rough. ' When feeling faint and sick, owing to eating fatty soup, the doctor and another medical man came to her, bedside, and the former said “ Oh, she’s going into hysterics, now chuck a jug of cold water over her and she will be all right.” This was not done, but on the following day the doctor ordered her to get up and do kitchen work, and in consequence she left the Hospital. C. E. Dudley, steward of the Hospital, deposed he had never seen Dr Chilton drank or drinking, but had noticed him in a very excited state and shaky, but would not like to say it was from drink. When in that state he was not fib to perform his duties. Witness had general charge of the stores under Dr Chilton, but had nothing to do with the patients or medical affairs. No irregularities had come under his notice except what Miss Marsden had told him. She had tried to get witness to make a statement to the effect that the doctor was the worse for drink. Three or four nurses were the most taken out at any time by Dr Chilton. These nurses were off duty. He also took the dispenser out. On these occasions the patients ran no risk in his opinion by the absence of the Doctor and nurses. In a case of emergency the head nurses and the dispenser were quite competent to deal temporarily with it. The great cause of insubordination in the Hospital was Miss Marsden’s practice of trying to set one section of the officials against the other. There were numerous cases of this. Miss Marsden would come to witness, for instance, and complain of the doctor drinking, and ask should she report him. Then she was extravagant in her own eating, and witness being responsible for the expenditure, was thus placed in a false position, having to check her, and thus incur'her displeasure. Two other nurses deposed that the reason they signed the letter asking an enquiry was on account of a rumor that Miss Marsden had written to the Colonial Secretary complaining of the familiarity of the doctor with the nurses, but they had since found out that it was incorrect. They had never seen the doctor the worse for liquor.