Report of Drs. Nelson and MacDonnell, and Zephirin Perrault, Esq., advocate, of the Québec, Marine and Emigrant Hospital.

  • Nelson, Wolfred, 1791-1863.
Date:
1853
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of Drs. Nelson and MacDonnell, and Zephirin Perrault, Esq., advocate, of the Québec, Marine and Emigrant Hospital. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    The whole edifice was examined, and every tiling appeared to be in its pro- per place The wards were closely inspected and were passably tidy. All the bedsteads are of iron, and are strong ; 1ml the interstices, between the cross-bars or hoops, were too large, thereby allowing the bed tick to be forced through, causing it to weir the sooner, and the bed to be less comfortable. The bedding was sufficient, snug and clean. Although the ventilation is most defec- tive, still there was no unpleasant odour perceptible in the few wards that were occupied, for as ai this season of the year the navigation is nearly closed, the number of inmates is consequently small. There was, however, one ward in which the smell was excessively bad, and this was a ward which had been placed at the disposal of a physician who had announced in the public- prinls that he was in possession of an infallible cure for the Cholera ! There was a stove in active operation ! The windows and doors were kept most carefully closed, and the natural consequence was, that patients and attend mis were immersed in an atmosphere, which from its heat and closeness constituted the best medicine possible for imparting increased impetus and virulence to a disorder which apart from its own malignity,requires a cool, fresh, and pure atmosphere. So offensive was the smell, that the nurses were advised to remove the chimney board, and to keep the door ajar. A sug- gestion of a similar nature, it was afterwaids understood, had been deemed an interference with the treatment, and invoked as one cause of the failure ol all the cures that were to have been wrought This Cholera affair has been alluded to in a former part of this Report, and it is to be hoped, thai no similar event will ever occur again in any public; institution. The Surgical Wards, certainly, presented to the medical men a far more pleading appearance. Order and method prevailed, and while there were no cases of particular importance, yet, were the Commissioners struck with the large number of fractures un ler treatment, and especially of the lower extremities: the proportion of such injuries is far greater in this Hospital, than in any other certainly in this Province. This is to be attributed to the frequency of accidents occasioned .in loading timber. They all seemed to be doing well: the ban- daging wis very neai, the splints well applied, and the whole reflected much credit on Dr. Lemieux. In fairness to Dr. Douglas, whose demeanor towards his fellow practitioner; has so often been painfully alluded to by the Commis- sioners, they have pleasure in admitting that lie. has spoken of Dr. Lemieux in a most favorable and gentlemanly manner, in his capacity of House Surgeon. The whole interior had a g'loomy appearance, arising from the dull colour of the paint on the walls. It may be here observed, that paint is by no means ihe most economical, or mast eligible application for eflect, and certainly not in- a sanitary point of view ; it may be also remarked, that a preparation ol lime and salt, with or without a small portion of plaster or size, colored to sa.it the taste, (the pure white or bluish east is far preferable) would impart a lively aspect to the whole in eriorof the building. This should be applied twice a year, or once at the very least, and that should be in the month of April, so that all might be ready for die arrival (.(the shipping. By t.lus application, all exhalations with which the walls might have been impregn ited, would be completely destroyed, and a Iresh and sweet state of the atmosphere be imparted to ihe whole edifice. To continue this digression, 1 lie floors of such Institution should be in the first instance, well saturated with double bailed linseed oil, and this should be repeated every second year; each subsequent coating wourd require a smaller quantity of oil, thanthe previousone, and ultimately the flooring would become impervious to any thing thai might fall on it, and' thus all foul effluvia would be prevented. By these several mean--, the sanitary condition of the Hospital would be effectually sustained, provided always that recourse be had to some more efficient method for ventila-