Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon].

  • Ceylon. Civil Medical Department.
Date:
[1918]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Principal Civil Medical Officer and Inspector-General of Hospitals / [Ceylon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    10/14 (page 10)
    10. Plans for the Future.—'It had been decided in 1914 that the time had come when it was necessary that the whole of the wards in the non-paying section should be rebuilt, for they are antiquated in design, deficient in the necessary annexes, and irregularly scattered over the grounds. The outbreak of the great war made it necessary, for financial reasons, that this scheme should be deferred, and some of the improvements referred to above have made it possible to wait for a few more years. This rebuilding of the old hospital must, however, be carried out at a later date, so that hospital wards constructed on modern lines may be provided for this class of patients. In the non-paying section additional accommodation in the form of a ward for acute medical cases in women should be provided for at the earliest possible date, as the only two wards available for such cases are constantly overcrowded. Further, it is very desirable that two additional wards, one for males and one for females, should be added to the block for chronic incurables and for convalescents, as this will permit of the acute wards being relieved of such cases and used for their proper purpose, as well as increasing the total number of beds available, which is very necessary. It is to be hoped that the single ward may be started this year, and the two wards next year. As regards the paying section, the additional block of single rooms provided by the generosity of the Hon. Mr. W. H. Figg should suffice to meet the requirements of the class of patients who pay for such rooms for some time to come. There is, however, need for further accommodation in wards—for males and females—'for those who cannot afford to pay the charges for a single room. The accommodation available in the Seamen’s Ward is very short of the demands on it. Perhaps some generous benefactor will provide for more, as a token of gratitude for the noble part played by the mercantile marine in the war. 11. Expenditure and Receipts.—The receipts from patients in the paying section were Rs. 60,420, and the expenditure was Rs. 341,395. The receipts on behalf of certain patients in the pauper section were Rs. 3,695, and the expenditure Rs. 97,674‘42. The expenditure in both sections covers the cost of diets, fuel, light, and equipment, and the salaries of attendants and servants, but does not include the salaries of the medical and nursing staff, nor the cost of drugs and dressings. 49. The Colombo Lunatic Asylum.—This institution, as has been the case for some years past, falls short of requirements as regards accommodation. The completion of the new asylum, now in process of construction at Angoda, is looked forward to. The following statement exhibits in tabular form the number of inmates of the Asylum, including patients sent to the House of Observation, during the year 1918 :— Males. Females. Total. Remained on December 31, 1917 677 353 1.030 Admitted during 1918 469 465 934 Total treated .. 1,146 818 1,964 Discharged . . 312 138 450 Deaths .. ' . . 118 47 165 Remaining . . 716 388 1,104 During 1918 there were 245 males and 122 females admitted, being 15 males less and 17 females more than were admitted in 1917. The total number treated in 1918 is 907 males and 469 females, or 1,376, compared with a total of 867 males and 441 females in 1917, being an increase of 40 males and 28 females, or 68 patients in ell. During the year 104 males and 49 females were discharged, compared with 133 males and 51 females discharged in 1917, being 29 males and 2 females less than were discharged the previous year. There were 157 deaths during the year (113 males and 44 females), compared with 115 for 1917 (72 males and 43 females), being an increase of 41 males and 1 female. There were 34 deaths from phthisis and 18 from pneumonia. Some of these pneumonia were influenzal, and some due to beri-beri. Overcrowding and the recent epidemic of influenza are largely responsible for so many deaths. The daily average number resident in the Asylum was 682*53 males and 362*67 females. The largest number present on any one day was 703 males and 375 females, or 1,078 in all, compared with 656 males and 350 females, or 1,006 in all, for 1917 ; and the lowest number resident on any one day for 1918 was 651 males and 338 females, or 989 in all, compared with 600 males and 335 females, or 935 in all, for 1917. 50. The House of Observation.—The year opened with 15 males and 6 females, compared with 18 males and 5 females for 1917. During the year 267 male cases and 111 female cases were sent for observation, being 21 cases less males and 21 more females compared with 1917, the total number, 378, being the same. These 378 cases were distributed among 224 male persons and 98 female persons, due to the fact that any one person may be admitted more than once during the year for observation. The total number under observation was 282 males (239 persons) and 117 females (104 persons), or 399 cases in all (343 persons). Of these 399 cases, 132 males and 71 females were transferred to the Asylum, 119 males and 31 females were discharged, 5 males and 3 females died, leaving 26 males and 12 females, or 38 in all, in the House of Observation on December 31, 1918. The daily average in 1918 for the Asylum, including persons under observation for insanity, was 689*54 males and 473 females, totalling 1,062*97, as compared with 654*61 males and 342*62 females, totalling 997*22 in 1917. The largest number of inmates was 1,110, and the lowest 1,011, as compared with 1,033 and 964, respectively, in 1917. Towards the latter part of the year influenza broke out among the patients and the staff. In all there were 192 cases, with 6 deaths among the patients, mostly due to pneumonia and cardiac failure. In January a small outbreak of beri-beri was discovered, overcrowding being possibly a contributory factor. A new ward 100 feet by 40 was erected to supplement the accommodation. The male patients appear to have been industriously occupied in making sundry articles, such as fancy baskets, linen baskets, coir articles, door rugs, and in carpentry; while the females occupied their time by making numerous useful articles for other institutions, such as hospital clothing, sheets, baby linen, mattress covers, bed clothing, &c., and also contributed articles to the Queen Mary’s Needlework Guild'. The interest and supervision exercised by the matron of the institution is very praiseworthy.