JUNE 3.]

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

Royal Commission appointed to Inquire into certain Matters relative to the Management and Administration of the Napier Hospital, an Institution under the Control of the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board.

GEORGE THE SIXTH by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India:

To our Trusty and Loving Subjects EDWARD DARKER MOSLEY, Esquire, of Wellington, Principal Stipendiary Magistrate, SIR JAMES SANDS ELLIOTT, Kt.B., M.D., of Wellington, Medical Practitioner, and MISS CECILIA McKENNY, R.N., of Pahiatua, retired : GREETING.

WHEREAS we are of opinion that inquiry should be made into certain matters relative to the management and administration of the Napier Hospital, an institution under the control of the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board:

Now, therefore, we, taking into consideration your impartiality, integrity, and ability, do hereby constitute and appoint you the said

Edward Darker Mosley,
Sir James Elliott, and
Cecilia McKenny

to be a Commission to inquire into and report as to the following matters, namely:—

1. Generally the circumstances in which between May and October, 1936, certain children, being patients in the Shrimpton Ward of the Napier Hospital, contracted the disease known as vulvo-vaginitis resulting from infection, and all matters relevant to the discovery, control, and treatment of the disease in these patients, and in particular—

(a) The source of infection in each case:
(b) The measures taken to guard against the inadvertent introduction of the disease into the hospital:
(c) The measures taken to prevent the spread of infection in the hospital:
(d) The care and treatment of the affected patients in the hospital; and, in particular, whether in each case such treatment was in accordance with the instructions of the medical practitioner in attendance on the patient:
(e) The notification by the authorities of the hospital to the parents of the children concerned of the fact that the disease had been contracted:
(f) The steps taken to acquaint the parents with the nature of and any dangers attached to the treatment proposed to be given to patients, and to obtain the parents' prior consent thereto:
(g) The immediate and contributory causes of the death of one of the affected patients:
(h) The measures that have since been adopted to guard against the untoward recurrence of the disease in the hospital.

2. The circumstances surrounding the admission to the hospital on 29th April, 1937, and the treatment thereafter, of the son of Mr. F. W. Berry, Puketapu.

3. The circumstances in which on 21st July, 1936, a patient of the Hospital, Mr. S. J. Montgomery, was, prior to examination by X ray, given an injection of a chemical preparation known as neohydriol and suffered untoward effects from such injection.

4. The circumstances in which X-ray films taken in October, 1935, of Mr. R. Rells, at the time a patient of the hospital, could not when required subsequently be produced for reference, and, generally, the methods of recording, handling, storing, caring for, and making available for reference X-ray films the property of the Board.

5. The measures taken to detect symptoms of ill health among nurses (including pupil nurses) on the hospital staff and to care for those showing such symptoms, to regulate hours and days of duty of nurses, and, generally, to protect the health of nurses.

B