Annual report of the Medical Department / North Borneo.

  • North Borneo. Medical Department.
Date:
[1956]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report of the Medical Department / North Borneo. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    28. The two major health centres in Jesselton and Sandakan continued to work on an expanding scale throughout the year. These centres are designed to provide ante- and post-natal care and infant welfare clinics in the two large population centres. 29. Despite the fact that in certain interior districts the popula¬ tion increase appears to be comparatively small or even so low that certain communities are in danger of actually disappearing,, it is evident that in the larger population centres, and particularly amongst the Chinese, there is a real demand for assistance in family limitation. Both centres receive support and assistance from the local branches of the British Red Cross Society and the St. John Ambulance Associa¬ tion. Buildings: 30. The work begun on the construction of the new Jesselton Hospital in 1955 continued throughout 1956, and by the end of the year the building was well advanced and likely to be ready for occupa¬ tion by the middle of 1957. Some staff quarters were completed. 31. The new hospital and staff quarters at Keningau were under construction throughout the year and are likely to be completed by the middle of 1957. 32. The construction of a new Mental Hospital is still unfortunate¬ ly delayed as no suitable site could be found in Sandakan. In view of this and the fact that mental patients are in the proportion of two to one from the West Coast as compared with the East Coast, it has been decided that the new Mental Hospital will be constructed in the neighbourhood of Jesselton. A possible site has been found and is now under examination. 33. The trained Hospital Assistant who was granted a six months’ special course of training at the Woodbridge Mental Hospital in Singa¬ pore returned, and his services have been most useful at the Mental Hospital, Sandakan. 34. The presence of a mental trained male nurse throughout the year has made very great improvements possible in conditions at the Mental Hospital and treatment has been conducted on an increased scale. The change in the outlook of the patients is most noticeable and it is rare under present conditions to find more than a very few patients confined in any way except to the hospital as a whole. Travelling Dispensaries: 35. In addition to the existing service of travelling dispensaries on roads, a travelling dispensary on the railway system was put into