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present Superintendent. Dr. Mackenzie's suggestions for filling up the tank to
the south of the hospital, and for repairing the buildings, should, if necessary,
be separately referred to Government.
13.
Mayo and Chandney Hospitals. —In all 190,764 persons received treat
-
ment in these hospitals during the year, as compared with 190,030 in 1877, the
number of in-door patients being the same in the two years—2,127. The
death-rate among the in-door patients was 13.9 per cent., against 12.04 per cent.
in 1877. In cholera cases the mortality in the Mayo Hospital was 44.5 per cent.
of those treated, against a corresponding percentage of 55.5 in the Calcutta and
Howrah Hospitals and the Alipore Dispensary. Dr. Cayley describes the treatment
adopted during the past year, and one of its most noticeable features is that
alcoholic stimulants are entirely withheld. Dr. Cayley rightly observes that,
in a disease of so varying a nature as cholera, conclusions should not be hastily
d r a w n ; b u t a f t e r l o n g e x p e r i e n c e a n d e x p e r i m e n t s w i t h a l m o s t e v e r y m e t h o d o f
treatment that has ever been suggested, he considers that some such treatment
as that adopted last year is the most successful. Without entering into any
discussion of the different modes of treatment that have from time to time
been proposed, there can, the Lieutenant-Governor thinks, be no doubt that
strong stimulants that may, in cases of disease, be beneficial to Europeans
have often an injurious effect upon natives, who have never been accustomed to
their use. This fact has, the Lieutenant-Governor believes, been too often
ignored in India, and especially by young officers fresh from the medical
schools in England.
14.
Howrah Hospital.—The number of European and Eurasian in-door
patients fell from 953 to 828, and of out-door patients from 4,998 to 4,100. On
the other hand, the native in-door patients increased from 1,510 to 1,674, and
out-door patients from 14,329 to 16,305. Both among Christians and natives
the mortality was far higher than in the two preceding years, the percentage
of deaths among the former being 5.56 of those treated, and among the latter
34.65, as compared with 3.99 and 25.23 respectively in 1877, and 3.46 and
21.8 in 1876. The very heavy mortality in both this and the Campbell
Hospital is in a great measure due to the admission of a large number of
destitute and neglected sick who seek admission only when recovery is
impossible. Of the 580 deaths among the native in-door patients of the
Howrah Hospital during the past year, 200 occurred within 48 hours after
admission, and nearly two-thirds of the whole number of deaths were from
diarrhœa and dysentery. The ixora, which was found in 1877 to be of great
value in the treatment of cases of dysentery, was not much used during the
past year owing to the difficulty of obtaining the root.
15.
Other Institutions .—Notwithstanding a decrease of 250 in the strength
of the police force, the admissions to the Police Hospital were 474 in excess of
those of the previous year. The daily average sick fell, however, from 124.93
in 1877 to 111.40 in 1878, and the total number of deaths was only 31 against
63 in 1877 and 52 in 1876. These results are no doubt due to the cause
assigned by Dr. Mackenzie, that most of the old and inefficient men were
discharged during the year, their places being as far as possible filled up
by younger and stronger recruits. Dr. Mackenzie's method of treatment of
cholera cases; which was very successful during the past year, is described in
the report and deserves the attention of medical officers; but the number of
cases treated was too small to justify any definite conclusion being drawn.
The scale of diets was raised above that of the previous year, but owing to
increased supervision and economy, the average cost of each diet, including
extras, fell from 3 annas 6 pies per day to 2 annas 10 pies. There was a slight
falling off in the number of both the out-door and in-door patients of the North
Suburban Hospital. Owing chiefly to the closing of the out-door department
of the General Hospital, there was an increase of 5,337 in the cases treated
at the Bhowanipore Dispensary, the average daily attendance having risen
from 67.4 in 1877 to 115.8 in 1878. The same cause explains the increase
in the number of out-door patients of the Alipore Dispensary from 4,188
in 1877 to 5,372 in 1878. There were 2,634 more patients treated last year
at the Arratoon Apcar Dispensary in Garden Reach than in 1877. The report
on the Calcutta Lock-- h o s p i t a l s h a s b e e n s e p a r a t e l y c o n s i d e r e d .