The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-16 00:00:00

METROPOLITAN WORKHOUSES.

The report of Mr. Farnall, Poor-law Board In-
spector, into the complaints of Miss Beeton, against the
management of B.otherhithe workhouse infirmary, has just
been published. Mr. Farnall considers that the evidence
adduced proves, amongst other things, the following:—
That the master and matron did Rot meet Miss Beeton 's
complaints, nor fulfil the requirements which she made to
them ; that the medical officer took no steps to obtaineither
pauper or psid night nurses, though fully aware that there
were bed-ridden patients in the infirmary; that neithe- the
master nor assistant-master visited the sleeping wards of
the male paupers at the times they ought to have done ;
that the matron did not visit the sleeping wards of the
female paupers by day and night as she should have done ;
that the pauper nurses supplied to Miss lieeton were old
and inexperienced, and that one of them beat and ill-used
the patients ; that the sick patients were sent to the
infirmary in a dirty and neglected state ; that the medical
appliances of the infirmary were extremely defective ; tha
the beds were very hard, and that bits of bone and Hint
were in some of them, and that maggots were seen on one
of them ; that the dietary of pauper patients was insuffi-
cient and not properly served ; that one of the pauper
laundresses was addicted to drink, and that the
nurse Britton took opium. A letter has been
sent from the Poor-law Board to Miss Beaton, saying
that the guardians have inquired respecting certain
charges made against her by the workhouse master, and
find that they rest on mere idle gossip ; that the guardians
have inquired also into the matters of which Miss Beeton
complained, and that they have now remedied some of
them, but would have done so earlier if she had, in her
capacity of nurse, made known the charges to them ; taat
the guardians have come to the conclusion that the charges
against Miss Becton are without foundation. Mr. Farndl's
report on an inquiry held with respect to alleged misman-
agement of the sick poor in Paddington workhouse is
also published. The charges were made by Mrs. Bateman,
a paid nurse, and were brought under the notice
of the Poor-law Board by the Earl of Carnarvon, on
behalf of the Metropolitan Workhouse Infirmary Associa-
tion. The affidavits received prove, Mr. Fermin thinks,
the following facts :—That the sick wards are contained
in two distinct infirmaries, called the new and the old,
and not scattered all over the house ; that in the old infir-
mary as many as three sick children, with various com-
plaints, some of them infectious, have been put to sleep
together; that the sick are not classified, but that the
aged, young, infirm, chronically and acutely sick are or
have been warded together in the same room, and that
an aged patient of dirty habits, and with vermin on her,
named Stannett, was warded with sick children, and
that a noisy lunatic, named Luke, disturbed the sick
inmates of a ward by night and day for three weeks ,•
that, in addition to giving all the medicines at the stated
hours in the different female sick wards,Mrs. Bateman had
a certain amount of dispensing to do, together with the
personal distribution of all the clean and dirty linen, both of
the wards and the inmates, and the distribution of stores ;
that Mrs. Bateman was consequently unable to perform
satisfactorily to herself the duties of nursing, and that
some of the pauper nurses on whom she had to rely were
incompetent, and behaved harshly and cruelly to some of
the patients, and that the lady visitors occasionally gave
the pauper nurses small sums of money to secure their
kindness and attention to the sick ; that a woman named
'Ward was afflicted with bed sores, but was obliged to
lie on a straw mattress until Mrs. Bateman obtained
an air mattress for her, and that while Mrs. Bate-
man was nurse she was not supplied with mackintosh
sheets for dirty patients; and that a paralysed patient,
named Bamford, fell twice out of bed in one night for
want of assistance, and for whom a night nurse was
ordered, but not supplied. Mr. Farnall also directs the
attention of the Poor-law Board to some additional facts
elicited during the inquiry. He states that there are no
paid night nurses ; that the friends of a sick pauper, Mary
111PDerdd, were not permitted to see her, or detained
some times an hour and a half before they could do so,
because " neither at`Donald herself nor her friends would
give any account of her settlement ;" that the sick patients
give beer to the pauper nurses ; that a pauper nurse,
when called up at night only attended to such calls
as she thought proper; that the sick inmates com-
plain to lady visitors of cruelty on the part of the
pauper nurses ; and that the matron does not visit
the sick wards every day. Mr. Farnall advises the
board to direct the appointment of an adequate staff of
nurses ; that the medical officer should attend thoroughly
to his own department and its requirements, and that the
master should be informed that in cases of sickness, or
necessity, inmates should be permitted to see their thumbs
on other than appointed visiting days. With respect to a
charge of immorality against Mrs. Bateman while acting as
nurse at St. Pancras workhouse, Mr. Faniall reports that
the charge was groundless, and that a charge of indiscretion
only could be maintained. Mr. Farman also informs the
board that, although the guardians discharged Mrs. Bate-
man because she was " inefficient in midwifery," the adver-
tisement through which she was appointed did not require
such efficiency as a qualification, nor was her efficiency
tested during the month she held office at the Paddington
Workhouse.

DEATH MOH lwa.unra Poison.—An inquiry
was held last evening by Mr. Richards, deputy coroner, at
the Bridport Arms, Salisbury-street, Horton, touching the
death of Frederick Potter, aged 28 years. He was a com-
pensation balance maker, living with his father, • watch-
maker. On Thursday his mother and sister went out,
leaving him alone, and upon their return in the evening
they could not get admiawou at the front door. They went
round to the back, where they found deceased lying on his
face in the doorway quite dead. Avessel containing a quan-
tity of cyanide of potassium was found in the parlour. He
used that poison in his business, and it appeared as if he
had heated it on the bob, and upon taking it up had in-
haled a quantity of the fumes, and then rushed to the
garden to get air, but had dropped dead in the gate-
way. The fury returned a verdict " that deceased died
from the accidental inhalation of the fumes of cyanide
of potassium."
CRYSTAL PALACE. ONE SHILLING DAL
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15.—Admissions on payment, 9,490
ditto by mason tickets, 3,0G3. Total visitors, 12,551