Annual report on the Medical Department / Sierra Leone.

  • Sierra Leone. Medical Department.
Date:
[1915]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report on the Medical Department / Sierra Leone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    18/60 (page 18)
    4. Clothing.—All prisoners have serge suits, which can be augmented, at the option of the Medical Officer, by singlets and sandals. 5. That as all drinking-water is boiled there can be little or no risk of infection from this source. A sample of each of the native food-stuffs was sent to the Government Analyst at Lagos, and from the data supplied by him the food values were worked out. On taking over the Medical Department of the Prison early last September, I was much struck with the great amount of cardiac disease to be found in the Prison, and have made a careful investigation into this matter. I have already sent a report on seven cases of endocarditis following bronchitis with pneumococci in the sputum. No deaths occurred in the cases, and so I have been unable to prove that the endocarditis was really of pneumococcal origin. It is a fact, however, that new-comers whose hearts appear on examination to be sound frequently develop symptoms of endocarditis within a short time of coming to prison. I do not think that this can altogether be accounted for by “ hard labour,” as many of them are wharf labourers, carriers, etc., whose usual work is more severe than the “ hard labour” of the prison. I have come to the conclusion that heart affections are the most serious factors to be dealt with in investigating the disease incidence and death-rate of the Freetown gaol, and that the affections cannot be altogether accounted for by “ hard labour,” ankylostomiasis, or previous organic heart disease before coming to prison. Patients in this condition of cardiac breakdown cannot well resist infection by the germs of dysentery, pneumonia or other diseases which tend to be endemic in this country, and do badly when infected. I have the honour to be, Sir, 9th February, 1916. Your obedient Servant, J. McCONAGHY. ANNUAL REPORT OF CLINE TOWN FOR 1915. Dr. Mayhew was in charge up to September, then Dr. Clarke until December and Dr. Nicholson up to the end of the year. The health of the European Staff' was on the whole good. There were sixty-three on the Sick List. This is not a large number, when the strenuous nature of the work is taken into consideration, as a man has to declare off duty for slight indispositions which would not interfere with his work if it was of a lighter nature. The number of Europeans at this Station has been about 30 during the year. The number of patients treated in the Dispensary was 7,006, with 6,301 subsequent attendances. The fees taken amounted to £170 0s. 6d. The chief diseases treated were those of the digestive and respiratory systems : constipation 882, dyspepsia 1,058 and bronchitis 549. W. A. NICHOLSON. 26/A January, 1916.