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3844. Do you attribute her illness to the bad air of the Hospital ?—No. I attribute it to the state of the lavatory in the children's ward. The boiler there had no cover, and the steam used to rise to the roof and condense, and was constantly dropping down. It w ras like going into a shower of rain, and the nurses complained of getting their shoulders wet. They also used to go out at nights. 3845. Has that matter been remedied '?—Yes, it has. 3846: The steam is covered in ?—Yes ; a pipe leads it outside. 3847. Now, do you remember the case of Mrs. T ■? —Yes. 3848. Were you present at the operation ? —Yes. 3849. You gave the anesthetics ?—-Yes. 3850. You always attend to give the anaesthetics ?—Yes. 3851. I want you to describe what you saw after the operation ?—Well, I saw very little of the operation. She was a bad subject for anaesthetics, and it took me all my time to look after her; she was very weak. After she was dressed she was lifted off the operating-table on to a stretcher, wrapped up in blankets with one or two hot-water bottles beside her, and carried by two men up the stairs, along the corridor, and to the bed. I went up with her and saw her put into bed, I remained a little time with her. 3852. Did you remain until she recovered from the chloroform '?—I remained for ten or fifteen minutes with her and then went away. That was some time between 4 p.m. and 4.40 p.m. At 4.40 p.m. I saw her again, and then at 5 p.m. I was sent for, as she was said to be bleeding badly. 3853. And what was the condition of affairs you found ?—The whole of the bed was soaked with blood, and she was in a blanched, weak state, with hardly any pulse. I took the dressings off, and I seemed to get the bleeding to stop. I telephoned for Dr. Batchelor, but he was not at home and I left word for him to come. I then asked for Dr. Maunsell, but before he arrived Dr. de Zouche came in, and we got the instruments ready, as we thought it might be necessary to open the patient again. There was no recurrence of the bleeding from this time. 3854. When you took the dressings and bandages off what was the condition?— The lower part of the dressings and the back part were soaked, the bed was soaked, and the lower edge of the dressings in front. The blood had trickled down between the woman's thighs, and the reason was that there was a drainage-tube, with an indiarubber dam round it, that caused it to so flow. 3855. The Chairman,] There was blood coming from the wound? —Yes; running down the woman's thighs on to the bed. 3856. Mr. Chapman.'] Then, looking at the bandages, it would not be very apparent, I suppose ? —No, it was not; in fact, you could not see the extent of the bleeding until you turned the clothes down and took away the pillow that had been placed beneath her knees. Dr. Batchelor arrived at 6.30, and about 9 p.m. he changed the dressings and everything, and about 9.30 he left for the night. The patient was much better then. I went back and forward to her until 12.30 p.m. At that time she rallied to a considerable extent. There was no fresh bleeding, only a little oozing from the tube, but no more thau you could expect. Between a quarter to 3 and 3 o'clock I saw her again, and she was faint. There was no blood coming from the tube. In about twenty minutes she seemed to rally and the pulse improved. I then left her. Between 4.30 a.m. and 5 a.m. the bleeding started again. I attempted to stop it, and telephoned for Dr. Batchelor and Dr. Maunsell. Dr. Batchelor arrived about 5.30 and Dr. Maunsell at 6. About 6or a quarter-past 6 the patient was put under ether, and the abdomen was opened a second time. So far as I could see, the whole abdomen cavity was full of clots. This was partly washed out and partly scooped out, and after about an hour and a half's work—l do not know exactly what happened during the whole 'of thetime —the bleeding point was ligatured, the abdomen cavity closed up again, and the clothes put on. She rallied a little after the second operation and spoke to the nurse. She died between 10 and 11 o'clock that forenoon. 3857. Were you present when the wound was opened after death?— Yes. 3858. And were you able to see then what had been the source of the bleeding?—A large vein down the left side of the pelvis had been torn. 3859. During the secondary operation, who was present ?—There were Dr. Batchelor, Dr. Maunsell, Mr.Eoberts, two nurses, Mrs. Burton, and myself. I think the two nurses were there all the time, or at any rate the greater part of the time. Mrs. Burton was there from a few minutes after 6. 3860. These nurses were required from time to time to get water from the lavatory?-—Yes. 3861. Was everything in working-order there ?—I think so. 3862. What length of time does it take to run to the lavatory ?—lt would not take a minute to go there and fill the basin and come back. 3863. And was the supply kept up? —Yes. 3864. Dr. Batchelor has said that the want of promptitude in fetching the water threw him back half an hour. Mr. Solomon : He never said anything of the sort. Mr. Chapman: Well, what reference was made to half an hour ? Mr. Solomon : He said that the operation, instead of lasting an hour, lasted an hour and a half. 3865. Mr. Chapman.] Then, as to the light?— There was light overhead —a gas-jet. 3866. Dr. Batchelor was asked if, at the surgical operation, he said, " Put on the dressings, and chance it." Do you remember him saying that?—l do not. 3867. Do you remember Mrs. S 's case ? —I believe some complaint was made in this case about the light, but Dr. Batchelor asked for nothing additional in that way. 3568. Before the operation he did not ask for anything?—No he did not ask me 21-H. 1.

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