Annual medical report for the year 1859-60, ending July 4th / Kent Lunatic Asylum, Barming Heath, Maidstone.

  • Kent County Lunatic Asylum.
Date:
1860
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual medical report for the year 1859-60, ending July 4th / Kent Lunatic Asylum, Barming Heath, Maidstone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    ANNUAL EEPOET, 1859-60. The foregoing tables present results differing so little from those of former years that comment upon them is almost unnecessary. The business of admitting and discharging patients has proceeded in a steady manner; almost the same number having been received as in the preceding year, whilst the discharges have been quite as numerous, and the mortality nearly as low, as in the very favourable year, 1858-59. The average daily number of patients has been higher, viz., 621 against 600. There has been sufficient accommodation for the wants of the county, and there still is an amount of free space, enough for the necessary subdivision and movement of the patients, and likely to meet the demand (should there be increase) for some years to come. The last table (No. 11) is an exception to the opening remark. It is the abstract of the annual returns of public lunacy on the 1st of January and it shows a very large increase for one year. It would appear from these returns that a single twelvemonth had added 88 chargeable insane persons, i.e., an increase of rather more than 9 per cent. To what causes this may be due is not apparent, and it may be suspected that the increase is not altogether real, but in considerable measure the difference occa¬ sioned by a less and a greater strictness of account in two successive years. In the course of the year 9 patients escaped and were all soon overtaken or found and brought back. There were 4 cases of fracture and one of dislocation. In one fracture the skull was broken by an accidental fall, and death ensued. The other fractures were produced by falling in fits, and one by falling on a staircase, and were of trifling consequence. In the case of dislocation one patient had been pushed down by another.