HOSPITAL ENQUIRY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2222, 17 February 1886, Page 2

HOSPITAL ENQUIRY.

A special meeting of the Masterton Hospital Committee was held in the upper room of the Institute yesterday afternoon.'. Present-Messrs Boddington (Chairman), W. Perry, B. P. Perry, J. Bennot, J. Payton,' Revs. Buttle, Paige, and Fulton, and the Seoretary W. Sollar. The meeting was called to consider a complaint of Frank H. Johansen, at the joint request of Johansen and the custodian of the Hospital. The Chairman said he proposed to hear the complaint of Mr "Johansen, and the reply of Mr Bulpit, and any evidence they'might' bring forward in support, and then to discuss the evidence in Committee. ; ;

~. Mr F. H, Johansen said he took his wife to: the Hospital on the Saturday ffhich preceded her death. She said she was not/in much pain, but needed good nursing,;;. Mr Bulpit said: " I think you .wilhwant'a hell of a lot of nursing to bring you round." On the following Tuesday ho received a telegram to come down to the Hospital, He got her out of bed five times that night. She was very bad. At seven in the morning he told Mr Bulpit she wanted changing, and he said stop till Mrs Bulpit gets up. Mrs Bulpit did not come till 8.30, and attended to his wife. On Wednesday she got weak again, and Mrs Bulpit cleared out of tho Hospital and there was no woman to attend his wife. On Thursday night Bulpit called him ad— fool for bringing her there, and said that tho doctor had no business to admit her. He growled so much that .he (complainant) had, to. clear out, Ho said the doctor mus,t.!iave thought he was a poor man, and could not-pay for riding up.and down to see his wife.. Another complaint was that Bulpit brought a stretoher into the room, and cleared out the water and milk before his wife was dead.

In answer to tho Chairman the complainant said his wife did not complain to him of bad treatment. She asked for food which Mrs Bulpit gave her.

In answer to Mr Payton—The strong language complained of was spoken in the the room where his wife was, He did not know whether his wjfe. could understand what was. said, she lay quiet and did not speak. He had seen the visiting member and others of the committee and tho Secretary, but had not complained to them. The first complaint he made was by a letter, written by Mrs Ewington, which slm read to. him. He. Qpulij not read English himself, The spicifio. charges were (1) that the custodian. had used bad language to him, (2) the abpice of a nurse, (3) bringing in a stretchor before she was dead, and (4) not providing her with water when needed, Dr Hosldng said the removal of the water from the room could not be a cause of complaint as the woman was past being able to take anything. There was both milk and water as long as she was able to take it, In answcrto the custodian witness said his wife got some brandy and water on Wednesday, and he, Bulpit, offered her a drink but she took no notice of it, and Bulpit said she was too far gono to take anything. Jibes'B,ulpjt, tl|eousfcodian, said: ''l deny making use of the expressions imputed to me, What I said was ( lt will take a lot of nursing to bring yon round,' and ' that it was a piece of cruelty to bring down a dying woman 9 or 10 miles through the bush,' I do not believe I used any strong words in the kitchen. Mrs Bulpit made Johansen up a bed in the room and looked in 3 or 4 times during the night, and each timo Johansen was'asleep. I should have heard him if ho got up. As regards the complaint that there was no nurse, the doctor would be able to explain that better than I can; and whether deceased required a nurse. JfJi4nfisJ.!S?!TOy !m language to. Win, buUntfie'qontrary, 1 did ail J' qo(dd' ! tb make him comfortable, ' 1 telegraphed for him to oorae down, made up a bed for him, let him stay in the Hospital, and fed him the whole time. Mrs Bulpit even lent him & change of my clothing onco when he got wet, and no one in reason could make this conduct tally with the charge of abuse. Mrs Johansen was past noticing anything when 1 brought in the stretcher, the reason I brought it in was bq aij not j;q disturb another naMenf, 'should it'bo wapted'iti $e night, by drag: giqg jt through, Jlis rqoni. jqiiansdn. self did nut know what it was. for until ho saw afterwards what it was used for, Mrs Johansen was brought in on the Saturday, and was not sensible after the following Wednesday afternoon, I sat up on Wednesday night. On Thursday, Johansen came in at .10 o'clock at night. 1 said, It is no use for two or three of us to sit up. You had a sleep last night. I will lie down in the kitchen wjth my clothes on, and you call me if nocessa'r.y, ]. awoke afc throe, and Johanseh was asleep in tlie kitchen cha}r ; . I went into the room, and found his \yjfc was dead, She had been dead about an hour, I thought I opuld trust him, or I would not have laid down, I then laid her out, and oume and told him, Tho firafc things ho asked for were her rings, He did not b 'o in to boo her until after she was laid out I have frequently laid Bodies' olit, both male and : female. Mrs Jojianjerj had' female friends' frequently cqm'ijig to .see, jier, and if §jie Jiaq ; been neglected she would' pnEtajrfly jjaye com' : plained to them. Wjljiam. Kennedy, assistant at the Hospital, said he heard Mr Pulpit say it was foolish to bring tho woman there, Ho did not swear in his (witness 1 ) hearing, nor on the other oocasion spokon of in the kitchen, In his opinion she had every necessary attention.. There • was nothing said in his hearing that could afject the patient,' ' : : ' 'Dr Hoskjng, the next witness, said he krieV nothing about the mutter further than'that the'case was admitted, and ho signed' the" paper.'' "He iiad 'not seen deceased since' New 'Year's day. She was then suffering from an' abscess on the lungs'and other' o'fl'mplajnts', If he had known she was so bad he wpuld not have had her brought down. . In answer to Mr Paige, witness said ! the request to be taken into the hospital emanated entirely, from Johansen, In answer to Mr Payton witness said tho case under their rules was certainly an unfit one for admission. , He had signed the case as a fit one, because he had interviewed some of the .committee, and it was agreed she should be admitted. .It was a oiiije, not for physic, but for nursing. The 'caso did not require an. ojipiqnpecl nurse of he ! should have informed the Qonir rn'itfee. The'patientwaVin miMoviorfy. As regards the removing of the drink, BuU pit had said that he tendered' her drink, and the husband had admitted that, but jlie was beyond it to his knowledge. ty legated, Bulpit' laying Jjer out, he .considered 'jh'im The sex was only d 'matter, of If he had thought there was anything wrong he should have made a row.' For his own part he preferred a male attendant. The husband said shefwas much better leaving home, but the ride down had taken it out of her. He considered the wjiple thing was a pergonal njatter between Jdhanßen and" |}lsp});,"' and, he was quite satisfied the woman was' we'll treated. Mrs Bulpit had been ordered away by him because she was ill and completely knocked up. Mr Boddihgton explained his action in authorising the admission of the patient into the Hospital. The doctor had explained to him that it was.'a case ha did not feel quite satisfied in signing, but it

was one in which the Committee should act. _He (Mr Boddington) said lie would be quito willing to join in the responsibility with any other two members of the' Committee as, even if the admission was irregular, it was urgent. Mr VV. Perry, another member who had signed the admission order, gave similar reasons.

Mr B. P. Perry, as visiting momber said ho had gone to the hospital on the Wednesday in question, and found everything right, On returning, Johausen had walked down with him to the Waip'oua Bridge, but he made no complaint with respect to the tho treatment of his wife.

Mr Paige said he visited the patient on the Wednesday and Thursday, and found everything clean and comfortable. In answer to a question Mr Johansen said he met Mrs Ewington on the Saturday, a week after the occurence, prior to that he had not complained to anyone, After some further remarks the witnesses and public retired, and tho Committee discussed the matter amongst themselves, when the following resolution was passed : That ,the evidence of tho Medical Officer completely exonerates the custodian on the question of nursing. The Committee consider that the Custodian may have been irritated into using some strong expression when an admittedly unfit case was suddenly placed under his care, but believe that in this, as in all other cases, he did all within his power for the patieni. Mr Bulpit has long enjoyed and still retains the full confidence of the Committee,