RESOLUTION.
MEDICAL
Darjeeling, the 13th November 1888.
READ—
Report on the Calcutta Medical Institutions for the year. 1887.
Read also
—
The Report for the year 1886 and the Resolution recorded on it.
The year under report was unusually healthy in Calcutta. The death
- r a t e f e l l f r o m 2 6 . 4 2 p e r m i l l e i n 1 8 8 6 t o 2 5 . 3 4 , t h e l o w e s t o n r e c o r d d u r i n g t h e
last twelve years. In Howrah the recorded death-rate was 17.55, against 22.63
in 1886, and in the Suburbs 42.17, against 40.51. There was a decrease in
mortality in Calcutta under all heads excepting Other causes.
2. The following table shows the extent to which the public resorted to
the hospitals during the past two years :—
MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
1887.
1886.
TOTAL TREATED.
Died per
mille
of treated.
TOTAL TREATED.
Died per
mille
of treated.
In-door. Out-door.
Total.
In-door. Out-door. Total.
Medical College Hospital ...
. . .
5,953
48,518
54,471
1051
5,880
49,985
55,865
101.7
General Hospital ... ... ...
2 , 9 6 6
. . . . . .
2,966
4113
3,696
. . . . . .
3,696
38.69
Mayo Institutions ... ... ...
2,736
179,249
181,985
85.5
2,697
177,817
180,514
104 5
Campbell Hospital ... ...
. . .
6,43
. . . . . .
6,432
210.35
7,313
. . . . . .
7,313
198.68
Municipal Police Hospital ... ...
2,738
. . . . . .
2,738
8.4
2,396
. . . . . .
2,396
12.1
Voluntary Lock Hospitals ...
. . .
458
2,214
2,672
45.85
484
1 , 6 2 9
2,113
47.52
Total Calcutta Hospitals ...
21,293
229,981
251,204
111.9*
22,466
229,431
251,897
110. 65*
Howrah General Hospital ... ...
1,502
11,083
12,585
183.7
1,615
10,949
12,564
1 6 7 . 8
GRAND TOTAL ...
22,785
241,064
263,849
116.73*
24,081
240,380
264,461
116. 49*
* R e c k o n e d o n c a s e s t r e a t e d , e x c l u s i v e o f o p h t h a l m i c c a s e s .
3. Compared with the figures of the previous year, the total number of
in-door patients shows a decrease of 1,296, while the total number of outdoor
patients rose from 240,380 to 241,064. It is remarkable that the total
attendance at the hospitals was larger during the last two years than in 1884
and 1885, when the death-rate among the general population was much higher,
showing that the attendance at the hospitals bears no direct relation to the
death-rate among the general population. The attendance at the hospitals
has shown a tendency to increase, while the mortality in the town has
been steadily decreasing. The Inspector-General also shows that the
mortality of the population during the years 1886 and 1887 from certain
diseases, such as fever, diarrhœa and dysentery, does not correspond with the
hospital attendance due to the same diseases during those years. With a view
to throwing some light on this matter, he proposes that the death-rate in the
different localities from which each hospital derives its patients should be
shown in the mortuary table at the first page of the report. The Lieutenant
- G o v e r n o r a p p r o v e s o f t h i s p r o p o s a l .
4. Of the 263,849 patients treated in the different institutions, 157,269
were adult males, 41,217 were females, and 65,003 were children. There was a
large increase in the number of children treated in the General Hospital, where
one of the female wards has been set apart for them. It is satisfactory to
notice that out of 281 children treated in this hospital only 17 died. The statis
-tics according to race were 7,540 Europeans, 29,116 Eurasians, 91,975 Mahome
- d a n s , 1 2 5 , 6 6 8 H i n d u s , a n d 9 , 5 5 0 o t h e r r a c e s . T h e r e w a s a c o n s i d e r a b l e f a l l i n g
off in the number of Europeans who sought relief in the hospitals, probably due
to the smaller number of sailors who visited the port.
5. The total death rate for all the Calcutta Hospitals, excluding the Eye
Infirmary, is 116 per mille, the same as in 1886, and lower than in any other
year since 1880. The very high death-rates in the Campbell Hospital and
the Howrah General Hospital are attributed to the large number of destitute
and moribund patients annually admitted to those institutions. Though the