Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 738

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They have no objection to operations ?-Generally speaking, no.

And how many operations have you had ?--Last year there were 138 under chloroform, besides very many minor operations without an anaesthetic.

And in these cases are they perfectly willing?—Yes.

Mr. THOMSON-How many of these cases would be amputations of the leg or arm? -One could scarcely say right off. A good many would be such or of equal magnitude. Of course, we never operate without the entire consent of the patient.

THE PRESIDENT-Suppose a patient is not in a condition to give his consent ?-- That is a very rare condition, because there are so very few cases where a patient comes in requiring immediate operation and in a comatose state.

Dr. Ho KAI-But you make it a rule to ask their consent first before operation ?- Yes. As a general rule the patient asks time to consult with his friends or relatives, and we always wait for that when it is desired.

Is that not the reason why the Alice Memorial and Nethersole Hospitals obtain the confidence of the Chinese ?-I believe it largely is. If a patient is in a condition. where we consider operation necessary and the patient refuses to submit to operation, he is usually required to leave the Hospital.

THE PRESIDENT-Have you had any case in which, a patient being unable to give his consent, an operation was performed to save his life?--I do not recollect a case. It is only in cases of primary surgical emergency that that becomes necessary.

Dr. Ho KAI-Take a case of compound fracture, is it not customary in England to consult with the patient or his relatives first before operation ?--With the patient himself, if an adult.

Suppose he is in a semi-comatose state, what is the general practice ?--We would then consult his friends if available, and if they were not available we would act according to the circumstances of the case. It is the invariable practice in England, in such cases, to consult the friends and relatives.

Mr. WHITEHEAD-There seems to be a very strong prejudice amongst the Chinese to any introduction of Western medicine at the Tung Wa Hospital ?-There is, and I think that it is well grounded. The Hospital has been established, so far as I under- stand it, entirely as a Chinese hospital. One of the first provisions is that the treatment shall be Chinese, and it seems to me there is little possibility of amalgamating Eastern and Western methods. The attempt to introduce Western methods is scarcely wise. There are other hospitals where patients can have these, and by going to the Tung Wa Hospital a patient shows that he wishes to be treated by Chinese methods. The question, to my mind, resolves itself into the deeper one as to whether Eastern methods are to be permitted in the Colony; if allowed, patients will certainly be better attended at the Tung Wa Hospital than anywhere else.

Have you come in contact with any Chinese publications in Hongkong condemning Western methods ?—No; I do not recollect any.

How long is it since you first visited the Tung Wa Hospital ?—I visited it soon after my arrival in the Colony over seven years ago, merely as a matter of curiosity.

THE PRESIDENT-During any portion of the time you have been in Hongkong, could the Tung Wa Hospital have been regarded as a danger to the neighbourhood or a disgrace to the Colony in any way?—A danger, I think, yes; from the circumstance that there was no real diagnosis of disease, as we understand diagnosis; it seems to me there may very probably have been, at times, cases under treatment there which should not have been in the Hospital.

Mr. WHITEHEAD-Yon mean infectious cases ?--Yes.