Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress.

  • Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress 1905-09
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Laws and Relief of Distress. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    273/1272 page 247
    a = i«’+ PART V.—Chapter 1. DEVELOPMENT OF THE SYSTEM OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE TO THE POOR. |. ° 247 cases at least, include within its scope the whole population of the district, rich and poor. The Poor Law infirmary here becomes de facto if not de jure a general hospital for the community. ate As showing the tendency of the infirmaries to fill the place of general hospitals, Poor Law In- the following selections from our evidence may be quoted. firmaries as . General Hospitals Mr. Foster, Camberwell, says :— “We are unfortunately placed, and that makes it necessary for Camberwell to make such medical provision for the poor as it does. . . . We are right in the middle of a very lerge district, with nothing but the medical provision that the guardians make to meet necessitous cases of sickness. Then it is rather alarming to some of us that we have to make provision out of our poor rate for so many cases of accident and urgent cases that we have to bringin. In the year ending Lady-Day, 1906, the police brought into our infirmary no less than 170 cases, and specially urgent cases had to be admitted to the number of 142, so that we admitted even with our limited accommodation of 800 odd beds . . . 312 cases from outside that would, if there had been hos- pitals, have been treated in hospitals rather than in a Poor Law infirmary. Of course, that makes our expenses for the infirmary go up very considerably, and deprives us of beds that the poor themselves should occupy.” 1 Mr. Cutter, Woolwich says :— _ “ An accident case is simply put upon an ambulance and brought to us, and the medical officer must admit it; he cannot be inhumane. Afterwards we recover, if we can, but as a rule from these street accidents we do not get very much.” 2 And again :— : (Q.) “Your infirmary serves to a large extent as a hospital ?”’—(A.) ‘‘It does to a large extent.” (Q.) “‘ You get casualty cases coming?” (4.) ‘ A very large number.” 8 Dr. Spurrell, Poplar and Stepney Sick Asylum, says :— ‘Cases of urgent sickness occurring in the streets, and those taken ill while in custody are brought by the police to the infirmary for admission.” 4 And again :— ““TIn some parts of London there is no general hospital anywhere near the infirmary.” (Q.) “ And so the infirmary takes the accidents ?””—(A.) ‘‘ Yes, and those cases that would otherwise go to the general hospital, if there were one in the neighbourhood.” 5 Mr. Cleaver, West Derby, Liverpool, says :— ‘Unfortunately, there are more beds in the Mill Road Infirmary than in all the voluntary~ hospitals in Liverpool combined, and these hospitals have no beds at their disposal. The consequence is that the voluntary hospitals are continually refusing cases and sending them to Mull Road. . Mill Road has become now a general hospital, and is no longer a Poor Law hospital.” 6 Dr. Brown, Bedwelty, says :— “The workhouse infirmary has in this and similar districts come to be looked upon as the. general hospital for the district, and cases of urgent illness and accident occurring to those on the. border lines of pauperism have found admission and treatment there.” 7 And again :— (Q.) ‘Does that bring cases under the Poor Law which, if there was an available general hospital,. would not come under the Poor Law ¢”—(A.) “* Yes, it does, and in certain cases the guardians have taken notice of these matters when compensation has been paid; where compensation has been paid to an injured patient, they have recouped themselves, or made him recoup them.” 8 Mr. Manton, Birmingham, says :— “Tt [the infirmary] is a casualty hospital, for in the midst of great works and street risks casualties cannot be refused admittance, though the interests of ratepayers are safeguarded as much as may be.” 9 And again :— | ‘* Our doors are not closed to anyone. A lady was thrown from her cycle a few months ago, and she was [in the infirmary] for three weeks, although it was not a Poor Law case at all. In that instance, I believe, the husband paid something to our treasury in acknowledgment of the services rendered.” 10 1 Foster, 16343. Cf. also Downes, 23211-2. 2 Cutter, 19033. 8 Cutter, 19365-6. 4Spurrell, 23303 (6). 5 Spurrell, 23311-2. 6 Cleaver, 36142. 7 Brown, 34233(9). § Brown, 34352... 9 Manton, 43626 (11): 10 Manton, 43734. , .
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