Medical report of the House of Recovery and Fever Hospital, Cork-Street, Dublin, for two years, from 1st of January, 1844, to 31st of December, 1845 / by George A. Kennedy.

  • Cork Fever Hospital (Dublin, Ireland)
Date:
1846
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Medical report of the House of Recovery and Fever Hospital, Cork-Street, Dublin, for two years, from 1st of January, 1844, to 31st of December, 1845 / by George A. Kennedy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    the following communication was made to the physi- cians :— “ The committee request the medical officers to report on the causes which have tended to increase the average © number of days which patients have passed in hospital for the last three years.” In reply, the physicians state “ that, in their opinion, there are several reasons sufficient to account for the in- creased average, during the last three years, of the number of days patients remained in hospital. On a general analysis of the cases, they have ascertained the fact, that there has been a much greater number than formerly of relapses in hospital during this period; many patients have been for several months in hospital. When it is considered that the admissions were at the same time a third less than before, the average number of days must have been proportionally increased, being of course in the inverse ratio of the number of admis- sions. The different type of fevers must necessarily cause fluctuation in the average. In cases of great ex- haustion, of which there was a large proportion, the fevers were tedious, relapses frequent, and required nu- triment in the very commencement and progress. This has, in a great proportion of such cases, induced the physicians to retain the patients longer than usual, there being ample accommodation, to insure their perfect re- covery ; an advantage they often regretted they could not fully secure to them in former years when epidemics raged, and the number of extern applications was so great and urgent, that patients were frequently removed, in order to make room, before their strength was suffi- ciently established.” By a reference to the table showing the number of applications for admission to the Fever Hospital from 1839 to 1845, it will appear that this city has enjoyed a considerable immunity from fever during the last three years. On a former occasion the writer stated his