Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia.

  • Southern Rhodesia. Department of Health.
Date:
[1935]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report on the public health / Southern Rhodesia. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/42 (page 11)
    CHAPTER III.—GENERAL. (1) Native Medical Units. There are efficient native sections attached to the Government European hospitals throughout the Colony, and small native hospitals have in recent years been erected at Maranclellas, Mount Darwin, Amandas, Plumtree, Fort Usher, Chibi and in the Chilimanzi and other districts, where there are no European hospitals. The larger mining companies maintain hospitals for their em¬ ployees. The employed native who falls sick is thus on the whole well catered for. These, however, constitute a relatively small portion of a total estimated population of 1,200,200. Over 732,000 natives live in reserves or on unalien¬ ated Crown lands. For the treatment of this latter class of the native people there has been in existence for many years a number of medical missions, which, in 1935, were subsidised by Government to the extent of £3,750. But in addition, in 1932, Government, in order to deal with this problem, instituted in the Ndanga-Bikita area a fully equipped native medical unit, whose success has been so clearly demonstrated in the succeeding years that from time to time, as circumstances permitted, other dispensaries have been opened up in various parts of the country. Moreover, at the moment, Government has under consideration a scheme for the rapid extension of medical facilities by means of the creation of dispensaries and clinics in many districts throughout the whole Colony. This scheme, if approved, will unite the Public Health Department, the Native Affairs Department and the mission stations in a common effort to bring to the native people, in as brief a period as possible, all the benefits of modern medicine and skilled attention. The following table gives the number of patients treated during the year at the various native medical units and dispensaries and clinics throughout the country:— Medical Treatment of Natives in Reserves during 1935. Native Clinics No. admitted to Hospitals No. Outpatients (approximately) Ndanga Native Hospital . 1,491 426 Gutu Dispensary, Ndanga . 614 1,159 Dispensary “B,” Ndanga . 1,155 315 Dispensary “C,” Ndanga . 609 422 Dispensary “A,” Ndanga . 126 1,253 Bikita Native Dispensary . 698 1,403 Total (Ndanga Unit) 4,693 4,978 Amandas Clinic, Concession . 437 420 Chibi Clinic, Fort Victoria . 1,386 668 Chilimanzi Clinic, Umvuma . 214 1,565 V.D. Clinic, Fort Victoria . 258 2,151 V.D. Clinic, Gatooma . 1,121 — Gwaai Reserve . 360 3,507 Kezi Dispensary . 5 741 Marandellas Clinic . 675 321 Mount Darwin . 1,262 279 Mrewa Dispensary . 455 7,968 Plumtree Dispensary . 624 1,389 Total (Other clinics) . 6,797 19,009 Grand Total . 11,490 23,987 (2) Native Labour on Mines. Disease.—The extremely cold weather experienced during the winter months of last year resulted in a rapid increase in epidemic influenza and in pneumonia amongst mine natives, with a consequent increase in the number of deaths from these diseases. There were 1,632 cases of pneumonia with 406 deaths, and 10,946 cases of influenza with 85 deaths. As a result of this visitation the death rate from