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to engage some one who has already had experience of hospitals either in this Colony or elsewhere. The Steward should live in the Hospital and be provided with suitable quarters.
31. We also agree with Surgeon-Colonel EVATT that it would be a good thing to obtain Chinese trained in nursing to look after the patients. We are aware of the difficul- ties in this direction, but we are of opinion that if no such Chinese can be obtained at once, immediate steps should be taken to have Chinese trained for the purpose, who should be sufficiently well remunerated to induce them to undertake the work. We observe that on the present staff of the Hospital there are two female attendants, who have not been specially trained as nurses. In view of the prejudice among the Chinese against the nursing of females by males, we recommend that an endeavour be made to obtain Chinese women who are willing to learn to nurse and who should be trained under the Matron of the Civil Hospital. We feel sure that if this can be arranged-and though there may be difficulties at the start, we see no reason why they should not be overcome as has been done at the Alice Memorial Hospital-the comfort and welfare of the female patients in the Hospital will be greatly increased and ameliorated.
32. With regard to the structural arrangements of the Hospital it appears from the evidence given to the Commission that many improvements have been effected recently and that there is no disinclination on the part of the management of the Hospital to still further improve the Hospital buildings. The only difficulty appears to be want of funds. In that direction we think that the Hospital should receive whatever help is possible from Government. There is a balance of $34,000 belonging to the Hospital on deposit in the Bank, The Committee has already applied for $20,000 to defray the cost of expenditure in connection with the plague and of improvements already effected in the buildings. This would leave a balance of $14,000 which, we think, might very properly be devoted to the completion of the lavatories, etc., for the North block, to the construction of a new ward to take the place of the present surgical ward, which all the medical witnesses examined by us declare to be unsuitable, and to erecting suitable quarters for the staff of the Hospital.
33. With respect to the Ko Fong wards originally erected for the purpose of housing small-pox patients, we understand that the Committee has already decided to reconstruct them for the purpose of housing destitutes, for whom there has hitherto been no suitable accommodation in the Hospital. We are of opinion that the Hospital Committee should be encouraged to take charge of destitutes as they have hitherto done, for they are able to make arrangements for returning them to their native homes more speedily and more effectively than could be done by any other organization. If the further structural improvements recommended by us are carried out, and if the Ko Fong wards are reconstructed, we are of opinion that so far as structural arrangements are concerned the Hospital will be in a satisfactory condition.
34. As to the sanitary arrangements of the Hospital, we think the Hospital should be inspected daily and more than once, if necessary, by an officer of the Sanitary Board. 35. We recommend that water-carriage should be introduced generally, as suggested by Mr. MCCALLUM, to take the place of the present system of hand-carriage, that bedpans should be used when necessary, and that commodes should be abolished.
We beg to call special attention to the following paragraph in Mr. MCCALLUM'S report of the 18th January last :----
P. LXII.
"With regard to the conservancy, I am quite satisfied that the only satisfactory Appendix
method in any hospital is the water carriage system. Excretal matters in hospitals are nearly always infective and consequently the speedy and complete femoval of them is a matter of the first importance. This can only be effectually carried out by adopting the water carriage system. I mentioned this to the Directors and they expressed themselves as being