7

H.—l9.

The beds are seventeen in number, all occupied. One of these is a patent folding-bed, with elaborate fittings, patented-by Mr. Jowsey, of Timaru; six are ordinary wooden beds; nine are common iron beds; and there is one chair-bed used for accident cases. Seven beds have chaff mattresses ; the rest are all hair. There is a neat locker, with tray top, for each bed. The head-cards give particulars about the patient and his diet; and a thermic chart shows the changes of the pulse, respiration, skin, tongue, bowels, and urine; also the patient's weight and the duration of the disease. There is also a card showing the treatment and the doctor's notes. The furniture of the ward is plain and substantial. There is a chair for each bed, and an easy-chair for the ward; a large deal table for dressings, basins, &c.; a large commodious press at the end for bandages, linen, &c, fitted with a medicine-press above. The whole appearance of the ward is comfortable, and everything is scrupulously clean and neat. Flowers are plentifully supplied to all the wards. Ventilation is secured by openings in the walls a little below the ceiling —one opens into the chimney-shaft, covered with a perforated-iron plate, and two open into the large central hall. One of the large wards is always kept vacant for purification, and I hope this will be continued. The bath-room, lavatory, and closet are separated from the ward simply by a painted and grained partition. This is perhaps the greatest blemish in the hospital, and, unfortunately, it is incurable. The baths are lined with zinc, and heated by means of steam supplied from the boiler, as are also the small casks which supply hot water for use in the wards. The closets throughout the hospital are fitted with cisterns : some are newly fitted with Jennings's patent; but the closet in No. 2, though it cost £6, does not work well. It was locally made; but a mistake was made in not giving it sufficient force. The best closet in use is the Eos patent, which answers admirably. All the other wards are similar to this in their appointments, and the same description will serve for all. The female wards all open off the corridor round the first floor, and are also four in number. In addition to this there is a ward for venereal cases, and over against it an ophthalmic ward. Off the left side of the corridor open (1) a comfortably furnished nurses' dining-room, (2) a dispenser's room, (3) a bath-room, and (4) a large and airy sitting-room for the house-surgeon. On the right side of the corridor are situated (1) nurses' bed-room, (2) nurses' bath-room, (3) charge-nurse's room, (4) secretary's room, all suitably furnished. On the day of my last visit there were 108 patients in the hospital: in No. 1 there were 17, in No. 2 15, in No. 3 13; in the female wards there were 11 in No. 5, 10 in No. 6, 17 in No. 7, 15 in No. 8, Sin the venereal ward, and 4in the lying-in ward. I gave-every patient the opportunity of making any complaints to me privately, and, instead of complaining, all were unanimous in praising the treatment they received. This hospital stands pre-eminent in the colony for the admirable completeness of its arrangements for the medical and surgical treatment of the patients. Although the building is inferior to several of the other hospitals from the fact that it was not designed originally for its present purpose, yet the advantage it possesses from its connection with the thriving and vigorous Medical School of Dunedin gives it in all the essentials of hospital treatment and management an unmistakable superiority. There is simply no comparison between it and any other hospital in the colony in this respect, and 1 hope that the Hospital Committee will not forget what this superiority depends on. lam glad to hear that there is a movement afoot to remove the lying-in ward from the hospital, and I hope it will speedily be merged in what may ultimately become a Maternity Hospital for the city. The removal of the old chronic cases who used to cumber the institution is a great gain, and I hope the staff will steadily resist all temptations to allow the accumulations to begin again. I made a careful inspection of all the parts of the annexe behind the hospital, as well as of the garden and grounds, and I content myself with saying that I found everything in admirable order. Of the skill and ability with which Mr. Burns manages the institution I cannot speak too highly, and all Dunedin is aware of the enthusiastic devotion of the chairman, Mr. Houghton.

DDNSTAN. This hospital stands on a reserve of about five acres on the left bank of the Molyneux Eiver, about a mile below the township. It is fenced in by a dilapidated sod-fence, and some of the gates, especially the one nearest the town, are falling to pieces. At one time one can see the grounds were well cared-for. They are planted with poplars, oaks, elms, willows, and a few blue-gums. Now they have a neglected squalid appearance, whereas a little attention would make the whole place beautiful. The doctor's residence, a plain six-roomed cottage, stands at some distance from the hospital, nearer the town. The hospital itself faces the north, and is approached by a gravelwalk. It consists of a central portion and two wings, in each of which is a good-sized ward for male patients. Female patients are lodged in a small comfortable room on the right side of the entrance-hall, while the dispensary and surgery stands on the opposite side. The hall is 18ft. by 6ft., and at right angles to it there is a corridor leading from one wing to the other, with the wardens' rooms and the kitchen opening off it to the right. The entrance to the kitchen passes under a verandah with a worn-out floor. Behind the kitchen is a store-room, and at the end of the kitchen projection is a lean-to containing a washhouse and a coalhouse. The male ward in the right wing (the Alexandra Ward) is 25ft. by 19ft. by 12ft. (in centre). The walls are coloured with a lavender wash and the ceiling white. There are two windows in front and one behind, with holland blinds on rollers. The floor has a strip of matting along the middle of it. The ward is warmed by a cottage-stove, with the pipe led into the chimney of the fireplace, which is closed by a wooden cover. Ventilation is secured by external openings under level of the floor, and a ventilator in the ceiling. It contains seven iron beds, none of them occupied at present. The mattrasses are of winnowings, with straw paillasses. The bedding is exceedingly clean and tidily folded, and the counterpanes, red and white, are nearly new. A plain screen, covered on one side with faded green baize, is placed opposite the door to prevent a draught. Along the walls are unframed pictures. At the head of each bed is a small locker, which could be greatly improved by a coat