An account of the condition of the infirmaries of London workhouses.

  • Hart, Ernest, 1835-1898.
Date:
1866
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An account of the condition of the infirmaries of London workhouses. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    THE CONDITION OF OUR STATE HOSPITALS. It recently became abundantly evident that a general inspection of the .infirmaries of our workhouses was, for many reasons, advisable. Grave scandals such as those which rose to the surface in the investigation following the deaths of two paupers, Gibson and Daly, in different work- houses, gave but too much reason to suspect that there were underlying strata of mismanagement and neglect, which might with advantage be examined. Considering, there- fore, the moment to be opportune for inquiry, I obtained the consent of the proprietors of the Lancet to the formation of a Commission for the investigation of the condition of these infirmaries. With their assent I secured the able assistance of Dr. Anstie, of the Westminster Hospital, and Dr. Carr, of Blacklieath (who had already been appointed on a • previous occasion to assist Mr. Farnall in an official inquiry into the case of Daly). Together we have visited nearly all of the metropolitan workhouse infirmaries. The main facts disclosed by the inquiry, so far as it has yet extended, are, I believe, of large significance, and suggest questions of imperial importance. The reports on each house have been published from time to time, and I wish to sum- marise the results here, for public and parliamentary con- sideration, believing that a strong case exists for legislative interference.