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KEW ASYLUM ADMINISTRATION,

DR. ELLERY VINDICATED.

"NO EVIDENCE OF CBUELTY."

Having considered the evidence given before him recently -nilen he inquired in- ri Royal commission into charges against Dr. It. S. Kllery, junior medical ofliccr ol the Ko**- Idiot Asylum, omi into the genc rnl administration of the nsyltim, Mr. A. A, Kelley, T\M., yesterday present«! a report to tho Chief Sccrctdty (Dr. Argyle). Jlr. Kelley stated that he found no evidence of any act of cruelty, wilfully or «deliberately practised, by Dr. Kllery on any patient in the institution.

The report stated that the inquiry -wa

confined to the administration of tho. idiot nsylum, and had. no relation to the affairs of the Hospital for the Insane at Kew. Comjilaints "»vere made that Dr. Kllery, in the presence of four nurses anil a num- ber of iemaJe patients, e\traclcd tcctl from six or seven patient« in the female airing court on February Ifi, and at the fetunc time and place permitted nurses to extract teeth. While the operations wcrc j-roccodin«! some «patients "»vere running

about more or Jess excited, m hilo other* asked Dr. Ellery to extract their troth. Jlr. Kelley stilted that, in hu» opinion, dental operations should not have been performed in the airing courts in the pre- sence of patients, and Dr. J'*llcry should not have permitted tio nurses lo extract

teeth.

Demonstration. Not Justified.

Mr. Kelley found that a steel instru- ment had beca iised on male and female patients solely for the purposes of demon- strating its uso t«o nnrscs who, shortly after the demonstration, -weie to be examined for the higher grades in the institution in the theory and piaclicn of nursing. The demonstrations vere given at the request of the nurses. On each occasion the instrument was. used under proper and desirable conditions, as far tus they related to hygiene, privacy, and decorum. In Mr. Jietley's opinion,

the use of tlio instrument merely for the purpose of demonstration ii .is not m any circumstances justified. Ile found that hypodermic injections of I-20th grain of apomorphinc hydrochlonde ivcro given hy Dr. Ellery, acting under instructions from Dr. Hollow, on eight occasions be- tween December, 1923, and September, J924. On each occasion that the injec- tions ti ero given the patients were con-, siderably disturbed mentally, being ex- cited, and either violent or threatening to become violent. On each occasion beneficial results w«?re produced by the injections, the patients becoming quiet und bidablc.

Undue Suffering of Patients.

On tlio question whether the patients or any of them had been subjected to undue suffering or hardship from cold or « wet, or other discomforts, in the airing , court or elsewhere within the bounds of

the institution, Mr. Kelley found that male patients, numbering about 80, were taken each (lay after breakfust to the airing yard, on which an old building, .known as tho drill hall, was standing. Almost all of-the windows in the build- ing were bioken, and the doors and lloor 1 in»«c were defective. The Iiuildiug con ¡..titined no fireplaces or heating appliances.

The drill hall lias condemned last year, and Dr. Kllery directed that tho children should not be placed there last «irintor. About '20 of the 80 children who were taken, to the airing conrt regularly be- came wet and dirty during the day be- cause they were so helpless that they wore unable-to attract attention. Being confined in a cold, draught)', cheerless , drill hall, they were many times found

crying from the effects of the cold weather. Some of them lmddled into corners to obtain slight warmth from 011,0 another. Mr. Kelley found that the patients referred to had for years been ', subject to undue' * Kufleriiig, Ile also

found that, tho bathing of the patients under the conditions employed at the ,'asylum inflicted j temporary' undue hard- ship upon*thenii 'VVct.and'dirty patients 'who went to the airing ' court ' were pcr 1 mittcd to remain ' unduly long iu wet ,'and unclean clothing.' '

Mr. Kelley added that it had not boon ?»bown to, him, that there was any 1111 ,,proper or indecorous .intermingling of

1 male and female patients. From the evi-

dence, he found that no intoxicating liquor had been taken into the asylum by Dr. , Kllery or by any patient.' When giving ? evidence, JNurse ISurlco admitted having 1 taken a bol tie of, beer into the institu

,, tion at Christmas time, contrary to tho ,, regulations. ,'",!,,

1 "Actuatedby Animosity." '

i, DiscuFsing the question whether lhere liwos any evidence of? a conspiracy on the

(Ttirt of any member, of Ihe stair against Dr. Kllery, Mr. Kelley said that he found that there was nu.agreement among uiauy ,uof the attendants and nurses to give ac

counts of events in which they wore actors 'cor close observers. « Ho found, also, that

¡¡some time'after ."the'oveiits'co'inplaincd of 'ijltad occurred some of the nurses and I 'attendants discussed the subject matter

I of the complaints, each from hid or hor ! own viewpoint, at informal meetings of

attendants and nurses, held separately, in Ute mess rooms at meal times, and'tit occasional meetings, when both nurses and attendants were present. He found that the nurses and attendants who gave evidence regarding the complaints which hud been mado liad, speaking generally, and with the exception of tho attendants O'Grady, Kopcr, Myora, McDuff, and .Shee- han, given truthful evidence on facts, which were for the most part admitted, Myers. SIcDuJf, and O'Grady, knowing from their long service nt the idiot asylum that Dr. Kllery was not responsible for 1 the shortage ofçlothing complniuqd of, os

lie was notiiticdictil ofliccr nt the,lime of the shortage, and also that he'was not , 1 csponsible for the great suffering of'.the

children .in tho malo airing court,' 'and knotvinp, » further, that Dr. Kllery was the einlief actor in "the démonstration of the .instrument and tho use of apbmotphine , injections',' were'-actuated by animosity

towards bim wlien they and , othcts arranged that Dr.'Kllery should be"ohargcil ?with cruelty and maladministration, und 1 hey, in particular,"* did so-with the in-; ' tcntion\o£ displacing Dr. Kllery as inedia

<al officer of the' idiot asylum.

In conclusion, Mr. Kelley added that lil« found s« that --Dr. "-Kllcry iised nasal and , oesophftgttql "tubes to demonstrate the pro-

cess of forcible feediiigl,on two occusipps, on patients .who did not require the opera-1 lion» He.'¡Mr.:Kelley) wa» of opinion that" no patient 'élïould,he used for the purpose unless his or her condition ncces% «Hated theropci-ation. >*

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