Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 744

See Appen-

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Supposing a patient there refuses to be treated surgically. is he scut away ?-When we have treated a man as far as we can without operating we say- We cannot do more you, and you are occupying a bed some one else wants and you must go away. you will not submit to our treatment, then you must find somebody else to treat you."

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Have you many of these cases?-Every now and then a case occurs, but not many. There are sufficient, however, to have this recognised.

Do you remember a case where you had to perform an operation by force, that is, against the will of the patient ?-Not further than this. If a man has been brought in to the Hospital in such a condition as to be unable to say anything for himself we have operated at once so as not to be accused of letting the man dic.

But if he is strong enough to say he will not allow us to operate upon him, we can do nothing.

If a man is unconscious and we want to give him a chance to recover, we do as we like. be the same with a European.

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But supposing he has friends and relations ?—Well, supposing a man was shot and another man was likely to be accused of murder we would do the best we could for the injured man.

Take the case of a Chinaman suffering from tumour of the leg; if you wanted to operate upon him you would not do so without his consent or the cousent of his relations?--If he refused to submit to operation, then we could do nothing for him.

Dr. Ho Ka-I should like Dr. AYRES to go to the Hospital and see how it has been altered, and I should like him if he visits it within a short time, to write us his opinion about it and the improvements.

Dr. AYRES said he would visit the Hospital and report on its present condition as compared with what it was in 1894.

Mr. THOMSON--I should like Dr. AYRES to state his opinion as to what would be the result upon the general health of the Colony if the Tung Wa were abolished?--It would mean a more rapid mortality among the Chinese; and we would have much more trouble in verifying cases of infectious disease. Plague cases, fever and other cases of infectious disease would not be brought to the Tung Wa Hospital as at present; the people would die in their own houses, and although we would find plague corpses we would find very few cases.

The PRESIDENT-Your opinion is that it would be prejudicial to the public health of the Colony to abolish the Tung Wa Hospital?—It is a benefit so long as we can supervise the people who come in; many cases of plague, typhoid fever and small-pox have been verified there, and removed and segregated for proper treatment.

You think the abolition of the Tung Wa would cause the Chinese to secrete their cases of infectious diseases ?—Yes, more so than they do now.

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And you are in favour of it so long as the Hospital is kept in a proper sanitary condition and supervised ?--If the Government is willing to go in for the experiment of a pauper hospital independent of the Government Civil Hospital, they might abolish the Tung Wa; but what is the good when the Alice Memorial and Nethersole Hospitals are not filled?

The President referred to letters of 5th and 9th June curt., and asked-You are not able to refer us to any special reports on the Tung Wa?-Since I got your letter I have looked through my annual reports, and I can refer you specially to my report of 1874. In my other reports, I have just drawn attention to certain things in the Tung Wa, without specialising,

Your orders were practically to visit the Hospital occasionally and to sce that it was kept clean and in good order?-Yes.