CONNAUGHT MILITARY HOSPITAL (CONDITIONS) (Hansard, 20 March 1952)

§ Mr. F. A. Burden (Gillingham)
The Connaught Military Hospital was built at the beginning of the war and was occupied by Canadian wounded. It contains a number of brick and wood buildings, and Nissen huts, in open country near Hind-head in Surrey. In 1946, this hospital was taken over by our own military authorities for 350 tuberculosis beds, and the Nissen huts have not been used since it became a T.B. hospital.
On 27th January last, the Sunday Pictorial "published an article headed," Rats—in a T.B. ward!", which read, Appalling conditions in a military T.B. hospital can be exposed today as a result of the "Pictorial's" nation-wide campaign against the things that disgrace Britain. It went on to state that a Regular Army n.c.o., one of the 250 T.B. patients there, had given the "facts" to this newspaper; but I suggest that the conditions described in this article would have been more fittingly applied to the sick-bay in a concentration camp than in a British military hospital.
The article must have caused obvious grave disquiet to all persons interested in the care of the sick and conditions for them in the Forces, and it needs little imagination to judge the effect of this article not only on the relatives and friends of men in that hospital, but also on men who might have contracted this disease and had been told they were being sent there. It must have seemed to them that they were being sent to their deaths instead of being sent on the journey on the long road to health and happiness.
Being shocked at the nature of this article, on 19th February I addressed a Question to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War, who, in his reply, suggested that I should visit the hospital and study conditions on the spot. Subsequently, on 4th March, accompanied by officers of the Army Medical Services, including the D.G.M.S., I went to Hindhead. I stayed there from midmorning to mid-afternoon, and was given every opportunity to make a full examin 2730 ation of the buildings, including the operating theatre and the kitchens, of the hospital. I questioned a considerable number of patients and members of the staff, and there was no hindrance in any way to my inquiries. I was given every help and opportunity.
My design in going to the hospital was to ascertain the truth or otherwise of the allegations made, and, in the time at my disposal, I propose to compare the allegations made in the "Sunday Pictorial" with the facts which I ascertained during my visit to the hospital and with facts which I have obtained by other means since that date.
The "Sunday Pictorial" referred to an 18-year-old National Service man from Scotland who, wrote the reporter, told him that his ward, like others, was overrun by rats and that when he complained he was issued with three traps and in two nights caught five rats.
As a result of the investigations I have made, I am quite convinced that these allegations are absolutely untrue. I closely questioned members of the staff and patients in several wards, and they all emphatically denied these conditions. Several of the men, and this was supported by members of the staff, agreed that they had seen rats round some of the drains outside the kitchen, but, so far as I could ascertain, on only one occasion was a rat seen inside the hospital, and that was when the doors were open, as they always are, and one had come in from outside during the rest hour and was pursued and killed by some of the patients.
It is, in my view, a despicable allegation to say that the wards are overrun by rats. I should like to say that I have made some inquiries in London and that in one of our newest and best London hospitals I have ascertained that a rat was killed in a ward on the fourth floor some two years ago.
Then, there was a complaint about the pyjamas of patients. The article went on: I was shown pyjamas issued to patients. They were badly stained. When a staff officer visited the hospital recently, all the patients were given clean pyjama jackets, and the stained trousers were covered by bed coats. This, too, was a wicked distortion of the facts. I talked to many patients and 2731 saw the laundry in the cupboards. Clean pyjamas and clean bed linen are issued to these men every Friday, and, if they require it more frequently, it is given to them without question. There was absolutely no evidence that I could find to support the suggestion that the bed linen and pyjamas were changed merely for the benefit of visiting officers.
Certainly, there are sometimes stains on pyjamas and bed linen. I have also ascertained by making inquiries at London hospitals that this applies to all hospitals in which drugs are used and men using these drugs are lying in bed. They cannot avoid dropping them sometimes on their pyjamas and the bed linen, and some of these medicinal strains cannot be removed by laundering. Is it to be suggested that when this happens, although the pyjamas and bed linen may be perfectly good in every other way, they should be thrown away? When I was in the hospital I questioned a man about this complaint, and he said that if they complained they could always have them changed if they wanted a change. Dirty articles are always sterilised in the laundry before they are allowed to go back to the wards. This process too may have some effect on how the blankets get stained.
The article goes on: The army authorities admit that 50 pairs of stained pyjamas have been recently condemned. This surely indicates that as and when pyjamas become unfit for use they are, in fact, discarded. There seems to be some implied stricture even in regard to matters which would appear to be perfectly proper behaviour. The article continues: One patient told me that his blankets had not been changed in 14 months. At the time when this reporter went to the hospital there were only two men who had been there since 1946, and both of them emphatically deny having made any statement to anyone about the changing of blankets. In fact, the records show that 520 blankets were changed in the three months before the appearance of the article.
The article says: The walls of the ward—a Nissen hut—were stained and dirty. 2732 But no one, in fact, has occupied a bed in a Nissen hut since the hospital was taken over in 1946, and not one Nissen hut has been used as a ward since the hospital was taken over as a T.B. hospital.
The article goes on to complain about food. It says: The patients complain too much about the food. They say there is not enough and it is badly cooked. They get their families to send them additional supplies. One soldier said that his fiancée spends £2 a week on extra food for him. Well, I was there during the dinner hour. I questioned many of the men and almost all of them described the food as "very good." There were one or two complaints about variety, and occasionally it was said that it was not well cooked, but generally the food was excellent.
I went to the women's ward in which there are a number of patients who are the wives and daughters of men in the Services. They were unanimous in saying that they were extremely well treated and—what is most important—that the food they were receiving was excellent. These women were receiving exactly the same food as the other ranks.
I went further: I obtained a diet sheet for the week preceding that in which this report appeared. It indicated the sort of food these men are having. Taking two days at random, I found that on 21st January breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, tomatoes and porridge, dinner of roast beef, creamed potatoes, vegetable, stewed fruit pudding and custard and supper of shepherd's pie, fried potatoes, vegetable, Bakewell tart and custard. On 24th January they had bacon and tomatoes for breakfast, roast beef, roast potatoes, vegetable, steamed baked pudding and custard for dinner; and fried herring, creamed potatoes, and baked spaghetti pudding for supper. They could have soup for dinner and cereal for breakfast. At mid-morning they had half a pint of milk with biscuits, and this could be repeated if they wanted it. For afternoon tea they had bread and butter and/or cheese and cake, and in the evening bovril or milk if required.
Mr. Peter Hawkins, the reporter, sums up in his article by saying: The military authorities admit that there are rats in the Connaught. The fact is that they have not admitted at any time that there are rats in the 2733 Connaught: they have said that there are rats at the Connaught, which is an entirely different matter. They have a trained rat-catcher to keep them down, but then most large institutions, particularly those places in the middle of the country, would have rats round them. I wonder how many there might be in the cellars under the Palace of Westminster!
The reporter says: They admit that the food served is not good. Kitchen staff difficulties is their excuse. There might be same element of truth in this though I could find very little sign of it. But the chief cook at the hospital for the previous two years, a W.R.A.C. Q.M.S. had been posted away some three months before the newspaper article appeared. Representations were made before Hawkins appeared on the scene, and she returned on 1st February, 1952.
The article went on: They admit that the hospital buildings are not 'entirely suitable'—and they say that 'redecoration has had to be postponed until mid-March because of lack of funds '. There is cause for complaint here. A modern brick building is needed. The present building can never be entirely satisfactory. But I submit that a great deal of good has been done with the existing conditions. The huts badly needed redecoration, and this is now well in hand. But this has nothing whatever to do with Hawkin's visit. He himself said in his article that it would be put under way in mid-March. Redecorations estimated to cost £17,000 are to be carried out.
I became so incensed the further I went into this matter that I telephoned this newspaper and asked if the reporter could come and see me. He did so on Tuesday the 12th. I questioned him about Nissen huts and he admitted that these men were not in Nissen huts. He rode it off by saying that he did not know what a Nissen hut was, because he had never been in the Forces. I could not help thinking that it would have been a good thing if he had been in one of the Services.
I found that the man who had written to him was a patient at the Royal Naval Hospital at Chatham where he had gone to have an operation. Chatham is in my constituency of Gillingham, which sounds rather Irish but is a fact. I called on 2734 him last Saturday. Before I questioned him as to whether he had in fact written the letter that started these investigations by this newspaper man, he told me that he had been so comfortable at the Connaught Military Hospital that he had asked if he could go back there when he was fit enough after the operation. When I convinced him that I knew he had written to the "Sunday Pictorial," he repeated that he had always been comfortable at the Connaught and that he wished to return there.
He maintained that five rats had been caught in traps in the ward in two months and that two rats had been caught in the rest room, but when questioned he admitted that he had not seen them and that he was not in that ward. I found other men who had been in the actual ward where this man said the rats had been caught. They absolutely denied it, but they admitted that on one occasion one rat had been chased in the rest room by the patients. They emphatically denied that there were five rats. They said that occasionally mice from the fields came into the men's lockers where food was kept and that traps were provided for those who wanted them.
I have endeavoured to give a fair account of the conditions as I found them and from the investigations I have made. I am not qualified to express any views on the treatment of tuberculosis, but I took the liberty of communicating with a consultant in tuberculosis to the Army, who is one of the greatest authorities in this country. No doubt the House will be interested to hear some extracts from the very long report he was kind enough to send me. He wrote: During my visit I took the opportunity not only of looking into the medical side of the problem, but of seeing the type of food, the way it was served, and whether it was hot or cold. I also took an interest in the general cleanliness, as well as specific items such as washing and the type of crockery, blankets, sheets and various other items of equipment. I was very favourably impressed with all I saw. The food that came along in trolleys to the wards at twelve o'clock was hot and well-cooked. The diet is adequate and compares very favourably with institutions of a similar nature in civil life. I am satisfied that both the medical treatment and the food and amenities of the hospital are adequate and that the Army personnel are getting the best available treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis. If our finances allowed there are improvements that could be made, such as painting in bright 2735 colours, and various other items. As you know, there is television in the wards, which few civil hospitals have. To sum up, I would say that the Army personnel of today, should they develop this disease will be thoroughly well treated and given every opportunity for their disease to become quiescent. There is much more I should like to quote, but that is a fair indication of conditions. However, may I make one or two suggestions? I would ask the hon. Gentleman if he would look into the question of appointing a dietician at this hospital. It would help to vary the food still more of these men who might need their appetite tempted. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that the Royal Naval Hospital at Chatham has a dietician. I should also like to suggest housing priority for those Regular soldiers suffering with tuberculosis. Many are not on housing lists anywhere and would have great difficulty in getting accommodation. It is essential that they should have proper housing conditions if their treatment is to continue and their health is to be fully restored.
I would also ask the hon. Gentleman to look at the responsibility of local authorities for the payment of maintenance charges at the Alemain Settlement. I would further ask him to look into the possibility of investigating the treatment of certain Army cases in Switzerland. I understand the Ministry of Health have some places, and the men in the Army should be given the opportunity of sharing in the available places. I should also like him to look at the general question of existing military hospital buildings, which I believe to be a matter of great urgency.
Finally, may I refer once again to this article in the "Sunday Pictorial"? It ends with these words: We urge the War Office to clean up the scandal of the Connaught now. My investigations have shown that there was no scandal at the Connaught to be cleaned up. But the article that prompted my actions is certainly both scandalous and irresponsible, and I hope that in future this newspaper, which is so much inclined to sensationalism, will very carefully check its information before printing articles which are not only untrue but must cause great anxiety and suffering to a great many people.

§ Mr. T. O'Brien (Nottingham, North-West)
To lend emphasis to this remarkable story, can the hon. Gentleman say what notice was given of his intention to visit the hospital after he read the report?

§ Mr. Burden
I gave notice that I intended to visit the hospital. It was known I was going to visit it, but I then carried on investigations outside. I have not mentioned this, but I traced one young man who was in the hospital in late 1949, and he stated that in four and a half months he put on a stone and a half in weight. He is now a doctor and spoke of the hospital in the most glowing terms. I checked and cross-checked in every possible way.

§ The Under-Secretary of State for War (Mr. J. R. H. Hutchison)
It is perhaps not surprising, after a long and tiring week, that I should find myself in a position, with two honourable exceptions, of carrying on a duet with my hon. Friend the Member for Gillingham (Mr. Burden). It is unusual in an Adjournment debate to find that the duet is so much in harmony, as I am with what he has said tonight. There is no more powerful advocate than the converted critic. My hon. Friend started by being a severe critic of what was going on at the Connaught. I am, consequently, deeply indebted to him for destroying the exaggeration of the article in question, which paints a picture, as he has said, about as macabre as a war-time Picasso.
Nothing is perfect in life, and there is, consequently, a streak of justification here and there for some of the things which were said. The Connaught Hospital is not an oil painting, but the buildings which require painting are not those which are used for patients; they are used for storage. What made me anxious was that this false impression would be carried into so many homes in the country. Indeed, we received letters from far afield urging that sons and relatives should at once be taken away from the hospital.
As my hon. Friend said, the Connaught was not originally designed as a sanatorium for the treatment of T.B. cases, but, in face of the general shortage of facilities in this country for the treatment 2737 of this fell disease, it has done good work and its record shows—and I think this is the acid test, if one wants to apply an acid test to this hospital—that, in 1951, 923 cases were admitted and there was only one death. Patients were discharged to their homes, to their units, to civil sanatoria and to other military hospitals. Of course, there are grumbles. The British Tommy would not be the British Tommy if he never had a grouse. Furthermore, this long, tiring and depressing disease is one which tends to increase grumbling.
I have not much more time left, but it would, indeed, be a task of supererogation if I answered all the criticisms which have been levelled and which have already been answered by my hon. Friend. I would add, however, that I have seen a list of recent improvements which have been made to the hospital, and it is impressive. They include new hospital kitchens, new types of hospital beds, loudspeakers and improvements to the X-ray department and equipment; 2738 and we are about to carry out the redecoration of the interior, improvement to ward amenities, including extra windows, provision of games rooms, further improvements to the X-ray department and many others.
I would end by saying that I have noted the points raised by my hon. Friend and I will look into them. The appointment of a dietician is something which we have in mind. Everything for the treatment of this disease which is the concern of the local authorities must be their responsibility, but I hope and believe that this debate will have attracted their attention. We, on our part, will see what more can be done. I hope that after this brief incursion into the limelight the Connaught Hospital will be left in peace and quiet to get on with its work of restoring health.