Twenty-eighth annual report of the directors of the Dundee Royal Asylum for Lunatics : submitted, in terms of their charter, to a general meeting of the directors, 19th June, 1848 with the report of the medical officers.

  • Dundee Royal Asylum for Lunatics.
Date:
1848
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Twenty-eighth annual report of the directors of the Dundee Royal Asylum for Lunatics : submitted, in terms of their charter, to a general meeting of the directors, 19th June, 1848 with the report of the medical officers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    mittent mania, with very unfavourable symptoms. His case was at one time thought hopeless; but the worst features of it at length gradually disappeared, and he finally recovered: he was six months ago discharged as cured. Another and still more hopeless case was that of a female, who had been about four years in the Asylum. Her malady, however, also at length yielded to the treatment, and she got quite well. She was one of the first patients discharged this year, and we have the pleasure to add that our latest information gives every reason to hope that her recovery is permanent as well as complete. One case was peculiarly interesting from its melancholy cause. It was that of a female, who had been suddenly and thoughtlessly told of the death of her husband, a sailor at sea. This news, for which she was totally unprepared, at once overpowered her reason ; but it was not long before her case afforded those hopes of recovery which were at length happily realized. Mortality.—The deaths this year, we regret to say, have been more numerous than in former years,—19 out of a total of 248, or nearly 8 per cent, of the number treated. Several causes? particularly drunkenness, have contributed to this unfavourable result. At the date of our last Report, some of the patients were in a very precarious state of health, and these,—five of whose insanity was caused by an excessive indulgence in the use of ardent spirits,—with others admitted since, among whom was an aged broken down drunkard, have died in the course of the year; indeed, some of the new patients may almost be said to have come into the Asylum but to die,-—one of them, in fact survived only two nights after his admission. But the extent of the mortality may, perhaps, be still more satisfactorily accounted for by the official statistics of the year, published by the Government. According to a return made by the Registrar-General, Mr Farre, the deaths for 1845 were 166,000; in 1847 there were 215,000; —the excess, therefore, in 1847, was 49,000 ! or not less than