§ MR. W. J. CORBET (Wicklow, E.)asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether, on the afternoon of 14th March, a man named Stack, suffering from a fractured leg, applied for surgical aid at Guy's Hospital, and his case was not attended to till 1 a.m. on the following morning; whether, on the same morning, after the leg was set, he was ordered to leave the place, as there was no room for him, a relative having to pawn her wedding ring to pay for a pair of crutches supplied by the Hospital; and, whether he will cause an inquiry to be made into the case?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE (Mr. MATTHEWS) (Birmingham, E.)I am informed by the Medical Superintendent of Guy's Hospital that the facts of Stack's case are as follows:—Stack was 829 brought to the Hospital at 7 p.m. on Monday, and was found to be suffering from a simple fracture of the small bone of his leg. He was taken into the accident ward for the night and received immediate attendance; and, as is usual in the case of similar injuries, the limb was temporarily placed in sandbags, and in the course of a few hours, between 11 and 12, the limb was put up permanently in plaster of Paris bandages. Stack was discharged on the following day with a pair of crutches supplied at the expense of the Hospital, and without any charge to Stack or his relatives. He was discharged in the ordinary course, and not for want of room. When Stack came to the Hospital every bed in the ward was occupied; but one of the occupants, who was leaving the next morning, was placed on a stretcher, and thus made room for Stack. The Hospital Authorities seem to me to have done all that was proper on this occasion.