17

H.—l9

only if there is a drought. There are two closets, which I was informed were emptied twice a year. The washing is done in the back porch, and the boiler is set on a few stones behind. In short, there ought to be no hospital here at all : I conclude it is only kept up chiefly to avoid contributing to a proper hospital elsewhere, and partly to induce a second doctor to stay in the place, and thus prevent a medical monopoly. 28th September, 1886.

PICTON. This hospital is beautifully situated on a hill overlooking the bay and the town. The estate is eight acres in extent, of which about half an acre is kept in very slovenly fashion as a garden. There is a good water-supply from a reservoir in the gully above. The hospital is a wooden building of two stories, with a verandah and a fine large balcony in front, on which are kept a large collection of flowers in pots. The general appearance of the building is rather dilapidated; the spouting all round is in a very bad state, and the pantry, store, &c, in lean-to at the back are very leaky. It has accommodation for twenty-four patients if all the wards were furnished and occupied, with suitable kitchen and other offices. In a rickety outhouse provision has been made for a workshop, laundry, mortuary, lavatory, &c. The wards have a bare and cheerless look, but are kept very clean; the walls are whitewashed and there is a lavender-coloured paint dado. The beds are mere wooden frames with canvas nailed all round, supporting hay mattrasses. The bedclothes are clean and sufficient for warmth. The rest of the ward-furniture consists of plain deal tables and benches, with a few cane chairs and a few unframed pictures. The food is of good quality, plentiful and well cooked, and in all essential respects the patients are very well cared for. I conversed with them all, and they spoke in the highest terms of the treatment they received. I found that practically this hospital is a Benevolent Asylum for bedridden and homeless old people. Of the nine inmates five men and one woman answered to this description ; while the remaining three cases were, one man suffering from fracture, one from acute rheumatism, and one from spinal disease. The only female patient was sixty-seven years old, and had been an inmate for nineteen months, suffering from cardiac dropsy. I called both on the Chairman and the secretary, and examined all the books, which I found in proper order. There was some confusion of the finances at the time of coming under the Act, but I find on comparing notes with the auditors that there is nothing calling for interference. Dr. Scott visits daily, and is highly spoken of for his kindness and attention. The patients' register is carefully kept up to date. The stores are of good quality; but one item— namely, tea —costs 2s. 6d. per pound, which I think is excessive. The Committee and secretary are very zealous in discharge of their duties ; indeed, I think the secretary might be requested to moderate his zeal. The contracts are yearly ; and lam informed there is sufficient competition. The doctor gets £120 ; Mr. and Mrs. Bowdou, £78; Mr. Price, secretary, £20. 3rd September, 1836.

EEEFTON. I have this day made a. thorough inspection of this hospital. It is a neat, commodious building, standing in a piece of ground a little over an acre in extent. All round the front is a well-kept garden containing shrubs and flowers, while behind there is a "well-cultivated kitchen-garden. The building consists of a central administrative part, traversed by a corridor 53ft. by oft., with a transverse block at each end, in which the wards are situated —the large male ward in the southern wing, and two smaller wards in the northern wing. In all, the hospital contains thirteen beds and, at present, ten patients. Two of these are chronic cases, one consumptive and the other paralytic. The large ward contains seven beds, and the other two wards three beds each. All the wards are exceedingly neat, well-lighted by sash-windows, well-ventilated, and very comfortable-looking. The beds are mostly iron, with straw paillasses and flock, coir, or hair mattrasses. There is one patent lever-bed, and one with a wovon-wire mattrass, for special cases. The bedding is good and scrupulously clean. The rest of the ward-furniture is all very suitable. At the head of each bed there stands a large and convenient locker, while in the large male ward there is an electric bell for each bed, and a broad strip of linoleum extends from end to end of the ward. Particulars of each case and the treatment are given on a card fixed in a neat frame at the head of the bed. Suitable ward-tables for meals are provided, each having a neat cover. In each ward there are common wicker chairs, and folding hammock-chairs for the weaker patients. There is a good supply of books and newspapers. The kitchen is well furnished with a convenient American range, a fine large set of drawers, and a substantial dresser. Opposite the kitchen there is a large, well-stocked, and admirably-arranged dispensary, which also serves as a consulting-room. Here, in a separate set of fine cedar drawers, are arranged a large and well-kept stock of surgical instruments. Next the dispensary, in the centre of the building, are the rooms of the steward and his wife, the matron ; and their comfortable well-furnished look reflects the character of the whole institution. Beyond the steward's rooms stands a well-stocked and well-kept linen-store, at one end of the corridor. Near the opposite end there is a fine large bath-room, with a convenient lavatory. There are no closets in the building—they are placed some distance in the rear, and are suitable and well looked after. A little beyond these there is a suitable mortuary. The other outbuildings are, a small washhouse, with five tubs and copper boiler, a coalhouse, and a lumber-room, in which is fixed a carpenter's bench. A small conservatory has been erected by Mr. Preshaw himself at the north end of the hospital. The books kept are, the patients' register, a rough diary, kept, one by Dr. Whitton, and one by the steward. From this diary the doctor writes up his case-book. The other books are the ledger, minute-book and letter-book, kept by Mr. Preshaw, who also acts as secretary to the Committee. The annual cost of the hospital is £1,100; the drug-bill amounts to £70; the 3—H. 19.