Second report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on Metropolitan Hospitals, &c. : together with the Proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix / Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, 5 August 1891.
- House of Lords
- Date:
- 1891
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Second report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on Metropolitan Hospitals, &c. : together with the Proceedings of the Committee, minutes of evidence, and appendix / Ordered, by the House of Commons, to be printed, 5 August 1891. Source: Wellcome Collection.
Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.
24/956 (page 6)
![26 January 1891.] Mr. Lushington. [ Continued. Chairman — continued. take the responsibility from your shoulders ?— No, not in that matter. 9826. You are responsible entirely?—I am re- sponsible entirely. In ihe same way with regard to the instruments that are used in the hospital, of course I do not order these instruments unless the instrument committee, which is a committee consisting entirely of surgical men, think they should be purchased. They have a book for the purpose, and they put down what instruments they think should be purchased for the benefit of the hospital, and when I get that book, then I look into it as carefully as I can and order the instruments. 9827. But in the matter of the one hundred and one things required for a hospital, food and drugs, and clothes, and all the other articles required, when are those bills paid ; once a quarter or once a month?—We pay some of them once a quarter, but we generally try and pay our bills as rapidly as we can. Take our coal bill, for instance; we make contracts for coals, and that bill is paid once in three or four months, or once in six months, when it comes in. And again, our fish and chickens are paid for. 1 think, about once a month or once in two months. 9828. Not once a week ?—No. 9829. You do not have any regular system of paying large amounts once a quarter, petty cash accounts once a week, and certain other bills once a fortnight?—No; I always devote my Wednesday morning to paying all the bills I can, all that we have got in and that have been examined before they come up to me. The whole bundle is brought to me; my accountant gives me one bill after another ; I make inquiries about it and see that it has been duly examined and tested ; and then I sign the cheque. 9830. Is any other signature required to the cheque bes cles your own?—The accountant countersigns the cheque after I have signed it. 9831. With regai-d to some of these contracts, for food, say, who makes the contract?—The ap- plications or tenders are sent to me in sealed envelopes, and I open them in the presence of the superintendent, and I read out the figures; he notes them down, and then I discuss with him as to which person we should give the contract to. It does not always follow that we give the con- tract to the lowest application. For instance, if 1 have known a butcher who has not served us very well, though he may quote a little lower than somebody else, 1 very often pass him over and sive it to another man who I think will give us better meat. 9832. Who receives the food when it comes into the hospital?—We have a hospital steward. 9833. Does he receive every item of food that comes in ?—T es. 9834. Then is there any check over him at all; how do you know that he performs his duty ?— He is a very old servant of the hospital, and I think we have this assurance that he performs his duty; namely, that if he (lid not supply the amount of fish and chicken and meat that was ordered, according to the sisters’ tickets which he receives every day for the diet, the sisters would complain and say that A, or B. was ordered fish or poultry and never got it. Ch airman—con t i n u e d. 9835. You think that indirectly there is a check upon him in that way?—I think that indirectly there is. 9836. And you think you are secure of having good food supplied, because the sisters and patients would complain if it was n<4 good?—I may say also that one of the steward’s clerks goes down into the kitchen every morning, when the meat arrives, sees it, weighs it, examines it, and reports upon it. 9837. Is the steward always present himself on tho-e occasions?—Not when the meat arrives always ; lie probably does not come till a little afterwards. 9838. That is what my former question alluded to ? - He does not go down to receive the meat himself; one of his assistants does that. 9839. The assistant goes down and weighs the meat, you say ?—Yes. 9840. This is a delegation of duty; the steward is responsible, though his clerk weighs the meat? —He would be responsible ; I should hold him responsible. Pie goes himself and serves out beer, wine or spirits, or anything in that way ; he sroes down to the cellar himself and serves out those personally ; that I know. 9841. Now, in regard to these various amounts of meat, beer, and other commodities, are the amounts consumed compared with previous figures?—Very closely; and I constantly turn round to the accountant and say, “ How does this fish bill compare with last month?” or, “ How is it we have had so many fowls?” It is very difficult to get at the exact truth of the matter, because it depends upon what the medical officers may order. They may have a dozen men on fish in one week in one month, and only six in a week in the following month, and soon ; so that you cannot make anv very close comparison. 9842. Passing now to the officials, who are the senior officials appointed by ; who were you appointed by? —I was elected by the governors. 9843. By the governors in general court?—Yes. 9844. And the other senior officials, the medical superintendent and others?—They are elected by the governors in general court. Under our Act of Incorporation there are certain appoint- ments that are placed in their hands ; the matron, the superintendent, and the chaplain are elected by the general court, also the physicians and surgeons. 9845. In the case of dismissal, would they be dismissed by the same body ?—I have never had such a case of that kind, but I should think that probably if they were dismissed their misconduct would be inquired into in the first instance by the court of committees, and they would make such a report to the court as they thought proper, and the court would, no doubt, adopt their views. As 1 have already said, the court of committees really does all the business of the hospital. 9846. Are the assistant physicians and surgeons also appointed by the general court?—Yes. 9847. Then the other gentlemen, the house sur- geons, how are they appointed ?—They are appointed by me on the recommendation of the medical school. 9848. Now the medical superintendent, Dr. Steele, has, 1 think, told us in his evidence, that he](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28040156_0026.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
