The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1890. TIMARU HOSPITAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2000, 28 January 1890, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 1890. TIMARU HOSPITAL.

Thbee is no change whatsoever to be made in the management of the Timaru Hospital. That is the decision arrived at by the board, as will be seen by the report which we publish elsewhere. Under no circumstances must any case of bloodpoisoning be allowed to enter the hospital, no matter what may happen. What we want to know now is, How long has this rule been adhered to P Within the last 18 months or so a lady living near Timaru was afflicted with this malady, and her nurse, who happened to scratch her hand, took it also. The lady died, and the nurse was taken into the hospital, and was cured there. We shall give names if required. The doctors, of course, can tell ua the case was altogether different. They r aa tell us it was not a case ©f puerperal septn^T^ Bl * caa ? a 7 wa ß septicaemia puerperal, a different thing j or cacoethes loquendi the disease from which that priggish member of the board, Mr McLaren suffers; or they can say it was anyl thing they like, and laymen cannot contradict them. The beauty of medicine is that it is not an exact science, and that doctors can say what they like. They have their license to cure or otherwise. But there the fact remains. The nurse took it under 1 circumstances exactly similar to those which they say would be dangerous in surgery cases; it was a disease arising out of an accouchment, and bore the outward and visible signs of septicaemia, Tet it was admitted into the Timaru Hospital and treated there without any evil results. There is one fact now, and the board must explain how this ease was admitted and Mrs Egan rejected. Was it favoritism F Was it negligenceP or what was it? We could tell a few other trifling facta which would have contradicted some of the statements made at the board meeting, but prefer to refrain from saying any more at, present. We shall content ourselves with a few general remarks. The Timaru Herald, which has hitherto tried to gloss over facts, and only published the truth when forced to do so by correspondents’ letters, has been touched by the callous-hearted-

ness of the decision the board arrived

at, to an extent that it wants some provision made for the treatment of these cases. We are glad to notice that there is still a little humanity left in our contemporary. It says in effect that while the board makes any pretence of dispensing charity it has no right to exclude the class which stands most in need of it. That is the point, but the Hersld canuot see how the difficulty can be got over. The hospital doctor if he were to attend such cases would be unfit to attend surgery cases in the hospital, and there the difficulty lies. It comes to this ; Some doctor must attend, and the proper one to do so is the one paid by the public, if he has to be quarantined he sustains no loss: his salary goes on as if in active service, He is not called upon to make a sacrifice, and can raise no I objection. It would be monstrously [ wrong to ask a private practitioner to make such an enormous sacrifice, because not only would he have to give up patients for the time being, but m a'i probability these patients would never come back to him. There can therefore be no doubt as to the doctor who should attend in such cases, and it must be no less doubtful as to the place where they ought to be treated. We believe that there are, at least, three distinct classes of institutions 1 for the relief of suffering humanity in the Old Country. (I) The General Hospital, supported by endowments of land or property, and by voluntary contributions. These are handed to a Board ®f Governors, elected probably according to conditions named in the deed of gift of the founder of the benefaction, who can dispose of them as they think fit in accordance with the donor’s wishes. They can admit particular cases and refuse other cases at their pleasure. (II) The “ Maison de Saute ” an establishment run as a private speculation on commercial principles. In this a staff of nurses is provided and arrangements are made with certain surgeons and physicians in practice in a large town for visiting the patients. Here people, living in out-of-the-way places far from medical attendance, can have their ailments or accidents attended to by “ town practitioners ” on payment of a weekly charge. (HI) The Poor House Infirmary. This is supported by the rates, its doctors are paid by the rates, and its only qualifications for admission are poverty and sickness. Any person possessing these qualifications can find a refuge here. Now we bold that our local hospitals in this country should be of this (III) class. They should be Poor House Infirmaries, and their resident surgeons should look after all who require relief within their walls. No case should be refused. If cases require admission suffering from ailments which may, to a certain extent, involve danger to the other inmates, let them as far as possible be isolated' let the medical attendant and nurses take all the precautions required by the present antiseptic era in surgery, and if risk still remains the other inmates must accept it. If they accept the benefits of charitable aid they must also accept anv risk with which it may be attended'! We, however, are of opinion that this remaining risk may be reduced to nil by adopting precautions which might involve some additional expense. If it is necessary that the hospital surgeon should be quarantined, let it be so, and let the visiting staff look after the hospital in the meantime. It is nonsense to say “such cases as the Egan case would not be received into any general hospital.” The answer plain, granted, but our hospital is not a general hospital: it is a poorhouse infirmary. It is nonj sense for the hospital surgeon to j aay, “If I was called upon to admit such cases I should at once resign ’ We think it is about the best thing that be could do if he does not choose to accept the position of surgeon to an hospital, conducted as an hospital should be under a system of charitable aid. As regards Mr McLaren’a assertion that the largest number must be looked after first of all, the question arises, is the largest number inside the hospital P The largest number in Mr McLaren s eyes is Number One. He and indeed many others, is not on tnJ ° ard t 0 dl8 P ons ® charity, but to prevent it dispensed - We challenge anyone to say have ever heard a charitable aid board member saying he must look after the interests of the poor. 1 he usual cry is they must look after the interests of the ratepayers, the dispensation of charity being merely a secondary conr sideration, and complied with because the law makes it compulsory to do so. We have to congratulate Mr Barker, not only on the stand he took up but on the intelligent and fearless manner m which he argued his case. We have always said if Mr Barker went wrong his head and not his heart would be at fault. We can endorse every word he said, and could add what would make those who contradicted him silent. We do not think he will succeed just now. The board has taken a stand and is not likely to capitulate, but in all probability when things cool down reforms will be effected and good done. He may, however, feel assured that public sympathy is with him, and if the public took the matter up they could strengthen his hand to a great extent. At aerate we hope ho will make inquiries as to how and why the nurse suffering from sepfcicsomia was treated in the hospital. We can supply him with the name, lie may also extract

from the management an admission as to whether the hospital is to be conducted as a Grand Hotel, under the auspices of aharity, or is it to be an institution for the relief of suffering humanity.