OFFICE OF THE SURGEON-GENERAL WITH THE
GOVERNMENT
OF
MADRAS,
Madras, the 15th April 1918.
No. 97/431.
From
THE HON'BLE LIEUT.-COL. G. G. GIFFARD, C.S.I., I.M.S.,
Officiating Surgeon-General with the Government of Madras,
To
THE SECRETARY TO GOVERNMENT,
LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL (MEDICAL) DEPARTMENT,
MADRAS.
SIR,
I have the honour to submit for the information of Government the triennial
report on the working of the Lunatic Asylums in the Madras Presidency for the
period 1915—17.
2. Population.—The population of the three Asylums in the Presidency, viz.,
Madras, Vizagapatam and Calicut, at the beginning of each of the three years of
the present triennium was in 1915, 792 ; in 1916, 824 ; and in 1917, 825. The
Madras Asylum contained in 1915, 73.48 per cent ; in 1916, 74.39; and in 1917,
74.30 per cent of the above figures.
3. The admissions including re-admissions and observation cases for the years
under review were as follows :—In 1915, 268 (221 males and 47 females); in 1916,
276 (222 males and 54 females); and in 1917, 300 (268 males and 32 females), thus
showing a steady increase in the number of lunatics admitted from year to year.
The total population for the present triennium was 3,285 which is an advance
of 125 over the previous triennium in which the total population was 3,160. The
total admissions excluding re-admissions for the three years under report were 767
as against 729 in the last triennium. The increase of 38 is accounted for under
" Army Imperial ", 37 military insanes from overseas having been admitted into
the Madras Lunatic Asylum during the year 1917. The total number of lunatics
confined in all the three Asylums at the end of each of the three years under
notice was 2,494 as compared with 2,372 in the preceding triennial period, i.e., an
increase of 122.
4. Discharges and deaths.—Among the 3,285 inmates treated during the
present triennium 340 were cured, 123 improved, 15 were classed as not
improved, 68 discharged otherwise, 245 died and 2,494 remained at the end of
the period. In other words on the total population 10.35 per cent were cured,
3.74 improved, 0.46 not improved, 2.07 were discharged otherwise, 7.46 died
and 75.92 remained ; the corresponding figures for the previous triennium were—
total population 3,160, cured 270 (8.55), improved 124 (3.92), not improved 22
(0.70), discharged otherwise 61 (1.93), died 314 (9.84), remained 2,372 (75.06).
A comparison between these figures indicates that the percentage of the cured
during the present triennium exceeds that of the previous triennium by 1.80;
while the death-rate shows a decrease of 2.38 per cent. The daily average
strength of the Asylums was 2,484.04 as compared with 2,372.09 of the last
report and the proportion of female to male lunatics being about the same, namely,
1 to 3.
5. Ages.—The largest number of admissions excluding observation cases was
between the ages of 20 and 40, being 67.23 per cent of the total admission for the
triennium 1915—17 ; the next in order was in the age period of 40 and 60 years,
being 24.31; and the smallest number of admissions was among those over 60
years of age being 3.63 of the total admissions. In the previous triennium the
percentages were as follows :—between the ages of 20 and 40, 70.47; between 40