2
TRIENNIAL REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE
6. Previous occupation.—The largest number of admissions comes under the
classification of " No occupation," next comes " General labourers" and then
" Cultivating tenants."
7. Ages.—As in the previous triennium, the largest number of admissions was
between the ages of 20 and 40. The number of patients between the ages of 20
and 40 and 40 and 60 for the years under review was 700 and 227. In other words,
69.10 and 22.41 per cent of the total admissions were under the ages 20 to 40 and
40 to 60, respectively. In the previous triennium the percentages were 73.18 and
17.75.
8. Escapes.—There were altogether 13 escapes during the present triennium as
against 9 for the previous triennium. Of the 13 escapes 10 were captured within
short periods and the remaining, i.e., 2 from Calicut and 1 from Madras are still
at large.
9. Types of insanity.—The principal types of insanity treated were :—
Mania
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
...
Dementia ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Melancholia ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Insanity due to Cannabis Indica ... ... ... ...
Dedmentia Praecox
...
... ... ... ... ...
Circular or alternating insanity ... ... ... ...
Insanity due to alcohol ... ... ... ... ...
Idiocy ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Imbecility ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
Syphilitic Insanity ... ... ... ... ... ...
Acute Delirium ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
389
177
145
112
80
64
55
37
17
9
5
10. Causes of insanity.—The chief causes are mental distress and strain'
heredity, infective and toxic (such as opium, cannabis indica, alcohol), physiological
defects and errors and mental instability, unhealthy environments, previous
attacks, puberty and drug habits are the chief aggravating factors.
11. Accommodation—Madras,—Accommodation for Indian civil male patients
is not sufficient and the overflow had to be accommodated in the European blocks.
There is overcrowding now and admissions from outstations have at times to be
refused. A similar state of affairs exists in the female enclosures.
12. Waltair.—There is accommodation for 79 males and 17 females and for
two families of paying patients.
13. Calicut.—Including the emergency wards there is accommodation for 200
males and 62 females which is sufficient to meet the present requirements. The
question of increased accommodation in the three Mental Hospitals, it is hoped,
would receive the attention of the Government when funds become available.
14. New constructions.—In the Madras Mental Hospital the erection of the
Head Sergeant's quarters and the Nurse's guard room are nearing completion. A
new building for sick among the male patients and six cells for the noisy and filthy
patients are under construction in the Waltair Hospital. The twelve additional
refractory cells and 18 cells for filthy patients, the construction of which was
started in 1921, were completed in 1923 in the Calicut Mental Hospital. The
construction of a new well for the kitchen and a bathing shed for the male
patients in the same institution is progressing. Some damages were done to all
the buildings at Waltair by the recent cyclone, but all the repairs are being
attended to by the Public Works Department. The annual repairs in the two
other institutions have been carried out and the buildings maintained in an
efficient state of repairs.
15. Sanitation.—The sanitation of all the three institutions was satisfactory.
The dry earth system of conservancy is still in use in all the Mental Hospitals.
The Superintendent reports that the village adjacent to the Madras Mental
Hospital is getting more congested and that it has of late become a source of
danger to the health of the inmates of the institution. Apart from this the noise
associated with the celebration of various festivals carried out in the late hours
of the night disturbs sleep so essential for the patients of the institution.
Necessary steps should be taken to have this nuisance removed.