Cholera in the asylum. Reports on the origin and progress of pestilential cholera, in the West-Yorkshire Lunatic Asylum, during the autumn of 1849, and on the previous state of the Institution. A contribution to the statistics of insanity and of cholera / By Thomas Giordani Wright.

  • Wright, Thomas Giordani, 1808-1898.
Date:
1850
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Cholera in the asylum. Reports on the origin and progress of pestilential cholera, in the West-Yorkshire Lunatic Asylum, during the autumn of 1849, and on the previous state of the Institution. A contribution to the statistics of insanity and of cholera / By Thomas Giordani Wright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    I.—ANNUAL MORTALITY. 1.—Gradual enlargement of the Asylum, As in all similar institutions, the number of patients who have died annually in the Asylum has varied considerably at diifcrent periods since its establishment; and in order to arrive at a standard of comparison, by which to estimate the mortality of any particular period, it is necessary to glance over the history of the institution from its commencement, and notice some of the more apparent causes of annual fluctuation. Since the West Riding Asylum was opened in November 1818, the number of its inmates has gradually increased, and the building, which was originally erected for one hundred and fifty patients, has been enlarged, by extensive additions to meet the increased applications for admission, until three times the antici- pated numbers were lodged within its walls : and of late, another building, larger than that at first projected, has been added to the establishment;—as is well known to the Magistrates, and more fully detailed in the annual reports of the Director, to which it is unnecessary more expressly to allude. The rate of increase in the number of patients resident in the asylum, has varied as considerably as the rate of mortality, chiefly from causes connected with the successive enlargements of the building, and partly from less obvious circumstances. On comparing the numbers annually admitted with those discharged and dead, as given in the first four columns of Table I. we observe, that after 29 patients had become resident in 1818, G7 more were added by the close of 1819 ; and the accumulations in the succeeding four years were 2!), 24, 41, and again 11 in L823. From that date till 1831, the numbers resident were nearly sta- tionary; sometimes increased by 8 or \\ while in other years the discharged and dead exceeded the numbers of the admitted ; as in 1828 by 4, and in 1S30 there was a decrease of 8. The average number resident was about 200, which were all that could be conveniently accommodated in the asylum, as it then stood.