The Portland daily press., 1881-11-21
THE INSANE HOSPITAL.
Investigation Demanded.


The death of BENZ. j. Rackliff by suicide at
the Insane Hospital at Augusta, has awakened
deep feeling of anxiety among many friends
of the hospital. No doubt some of the reports
that are current are incorrect, but as to the
material facts in the case there can be few
doubts. This case receives the more attention
because of the charges of neglect and cruelty
towards pa.ientsin that institution made last
winter. In this case the important facts are
known in the vicinity of the hospital; which
seem to be that Mr.. Rackliff was taken to the
hospital some time in October last, as a suioid-
al patient, and on the third day after this he
committed suicide in his room. having been
left by his attendant alone in his room,-that
and other rooms including the BARRIERS shop,
or room used for shaving left opened-the at
tendant having taken all his other patients to
their breakfast with, perhaps, the exception of
one insane man.
Soon afterward Racklif was found dying,
having severed the jugular vein. The hospi-
tai reported that he had broken looking
glass, in his room, and committed the act with
piece of it, and that no one was to be blamed;
and this would seem to be the final disposition
of the matter so far the hospital is concerned.
respectfully submit that this is not, under
the circumstances, a proper disposition of
case like this, and that the hospital owes it to
the friends of the institution and the friends of
patients within its walls to make this matter
clearer than it now is. There are two points
about which it does seem that an explanation
should be given.
The fist is: Whether this patient was
wrongfuly neglected, and left alone with suffi-
Gent means and opportunity for him to injure
himself The General Regulations of the
hospital require in article 10 that Every per-
son shall be held accountable for the safe keep
ing of every patient committed to his or her
care until placed in the custody of
another person authorized to receive them.
| Article u: sit is not enough that the attend
ant supposes patient is in his or her place;
| they must kl,oD it." This man was left by his
| attendant in his ball-and left alone long
| enough, as is alleged, to break the looking
| glass, go to the BARRIERS room, and with tho
| broken glass begin the work of suicide-then
| return to his own room and with the broken
| glass, or something else, complete his work;
| SO tn at when found be lived but few mo-
| ments. Where the attendant may have been
! is a.matter of no great consequence. 1t is said
| he was in search of DIR. Harlow. The regula-
lions require that the patient shall not be left
| alone When he was committed the officers
| were assured he would kill himself. They
| gave assurance that he would be carefully
| guarded, auQ t1ab Ln6r6 was uOtnlug IN MS
| room with which he could injure himself. On
| the third day from this he was dead, as already
| stated.
The second thing which seems extraordin-
| ary in the conduct of this matter is the course
| pursued after the death. Chap. 256, Sec. 6,
| Statutes of 1874 reads: I'm case of the sudden
death of any patient in the hospital, under cir
| cumstances of reasonable suspicion as to the
| innocent cause thereof. a coroner's inquest
| shall be held, as provided law in other cases,
Is ~x.rs hall
| coroner to be Immediately notified for that
| purpose"
No such inquest was held, and believe, no
coroner notified. "The committee of visitors
are required not to sit upon the case, but "to
| cause coroner to be Immediately notified &c. -
| In this case there was no action of the COM
| mittee of visitors. The only one present was
| the lady member of the committee. The hos
| pital probably holds thatif one of the committee
| Is present the committee is present. And so,
in the event of a sudden and violent death, as
in this case, the whole and the weighty duty
of deciding the responsibility of the officers of
the hospital for this violent death is left with
woman who is a member of the committee
and who spends much time there as friend and
| member of the hospital household. 1t is
doubtless held that it is no part OF the commit
tees duty to determine in such case whether
the death was probably caused by
criminal negligence on the part OF
the government of the hospital. But
The committee of visitors was established for
the very purpose of securing faithful dis
charge of their trust by the executive
and all other officers. In case of death by ne.
glect, there was properly no one in the Insane
Hospital to raise the question of neglect bul
the negectful parties themselves. and SO this
visiting committee, properly called by some
| one a detective committee, was established by
law, Was it wise in this case for the execu
tive officers to submit the body of this man tC
be viewed only by one member of the commit
tee? Why should not at least one other mem
Der of the committee be summoned? Was i
subjecting him to too much trouble? Surely
| neither of the gentlemen members of the com
mittee would have deemed it too much troub
lie to perform their duty in a case of SO serious
nature.
If the law regulating the hospital has beer
rightly construed by the hospital in this case
then it is amentably inefficient, and the guarf
and protection that it was intended to furnish
patients and their friends, is but mound o
| sand
1t is to be hoped that the hospital will no
be content to submit the solution of the doubt
that surround this case to any authority bu
that provided by law coroner's inquests
And the family of the patient should not b
expected to assume the labor of such an inves
tigation 1t belongs to the hospital, and tn
spirit of the law evidently enioined it upol
them. An investigation reported by tn
Trustees will not solve the doubts INDUCED b,
friends of the hospital Let there be coro
ner's inquest 1t should be held at once. l
the statements as reported and believed cal
be shown to be incorrect, all the friends of tn
hospital will be relieved.
Portland, 10 Nov 1881.