Sessional_Paper_1896 — Page 929

No. 1

SIR,

S.

[LIV ]

(Acting Colonial Surgeon to Colonial Secretary.)

GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL,

HONGKONG, 11th November, 1895.

I have the honour to report that the Tung Wa Committee has now issued orders that patients can be discharged, whenever the Chinese doctors see fit, quite regardless of the rule that was made recently that the Visiting Surgeon had to see all patients before their discharge.

If the present Committee are to be allowed to act in this way, undoing all that has recently been done to improve the establishment, it seems useless my inspecting the institution at áll.

To-day there are eight Chinamen living in the balcony off "Ping" and "On" wards. I thought it was decided in September last that this was irregular.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

The Honourable

J. H. STEWART LOCKHART,

Colonial Secretary.

J. M. ATKINSON,

Acting Colonial Surgeon.

(Acting Colonial Surgeon to Colonial Secretary.)

GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL,

WONG LEUNG,

•

S.

No. 217

SIR,

HONGKONG, 30th December, 1895.

I have the honour to draw attention to the danger that exists to the public health under the existing state of affairs at the Tung Wa Hospital.

On the 26th instant a Chinaman, marginally named, was admitted to the Hospital from No. 49, First Street, suffering from fever. Seeing that three cases have since the 25th instant been admitted to that Hospital from this street suffering from plague, I left instructions for the man to be carefully watched, as I suspected he might be suffering from plague in the incubation stage, when the symptoms are not sufficiently pronounced to enable one to form a diagnosis.

IP YING, aged 4, at 6 H.m. CHAN SHI SUN,

*ged 24, at

8 ani.

On enquiring for the man I found out that his friends had been allowed to take him away on the 27th instant.

Under the circumstances there cannot, in my opinion, be any question but that this procedure upon the part of the Tung Wa Hospital is a serious menace to the health of the Colony, and I submit that the Tung Wa Hospital Committee must at once be informed that no cases can be discharged without the authority of the Acting Colonial Surgeon.

I further have to inform you that yesterday two cases of plague, marginally named, were admitted, and I had no notice until 3 hours afterwards, when the Tung Wa Hospital officers telephoned up to the Hospital showing clearly that they recognised the disease the patients were suffering from to be that of plague.