( 4 )
7. The educational aspect of the question has not been lost sight of.
Even after liberal allowance has been made for the lessened use of expensive
articles of diet, the cost of strict Listerian treatment is admittedly much
greater than that of the ordinary methods; spray producers, which are
essential to its application, are costly and fragile, and can only be properly
used with skilled assistance ; and however great the value of this treatment
may be, when it is applied with care and skill, and without regard to cost,
there is no hope of its being within the reach of the mass of the population
of these provinces. The pupils whose medical training is one of the chief
functions of the Calcutta hospitals will seldom be called on to practise Listerism
in afterlife, and their practical usefulness would be much impaired if they were
taught to look upon the costly appliances of the system as indispensable.
8. The number of in-patients treated by the Obstetric Physician shows a
considerable falling off, being only 1,008 in 1881 against 1,277, 1,204, 1,238,
1,109, and 1,155 in the five preceding years. There were 6,500 out-patients
during the first six months of the year. The cases treated during the second-
half have been amalgamated with those of the general out-door dispensary.
9. In the Ophthalmic Hospital 608 persons were treated during the year,
of whom 555 were fresh admissions. Of these, 299 were cured and 188
relieved. Three hundred and sixty operations were performed, of which
218 resulted in cures, while 88 persons were relieved. Besides these, 6,505
out-patients were treated during the year.
10. The following table shows the number of cases of enteric and remit--
tent fever treated in each of the hospitals in each year since 1872 :—
ENTERIC FEVER.
REMITTENT FEVER.
1 8 7 2 . 1 8 7 3 . 1 8 7 4 . 1 8 7 5 . 1876. 1 8 7 7 . 1 8 7 8 . 1 8 7 9 . 1 8 8 0
. 1 8 8 1 . 1 8 7 2 . 1 8 7 3 . 1874. 1 8 7 5 . 1 8 7 6 . 1 8 7 7
.
1 8 7 8 .
1 8 7 9
.
1 8 8 0 .
1 8 8 1 .
Medical College Hospital ...
5 9 5 6 6 1 ... 2 ... .. 80 86 58 125 95 124 152 164 180 196
Presidency General Hospital
17 6 11 12 17 18 9 11 6 11 19 22 10 48 27 39 38 34 49 32
Howrah Hospital ... ..
... ... ... ... ... 4 2 4 2 3 28 88 146 172 210 359 393 228 107 77
Mayo Hospital ... ... ... 6 2 1 5 6 ... ... ... ... 1 15 13 22 35 36 174 2 2 4 130 208 221
Campbell Hospital ... ... ... 86 28 2 ... . .. ... ... ... ... 239 212 495 466 438 432 466 333 354 309
Police Hospital ... ... ...
Total ...
12
126
8
53
11
30
. . . . 1 4
...
23 43
11
34
2
13
1
18
...
8
...
15
...
381
...
421
...
731
1
847
...
806
...
],128
1 1
1,284
29
918
28
926
58
893
Enteric fever presented itself during the year only in the General, Howrah, and
Mayo Hospitals. Dr. Payne remarks that only the record of the last three or
four years can be regarded as reliable. The figures of the past year present
no marked difference from the rest of the trustworthy series. The Lieutenant-
Governor is glad to notice that in all the hospitals the use of the cinchona
febrifuge has almost entirely superseded the use of quinine.
11. In the Medical College Hospital the number of in-patients was 4,773,
or 200 more than in the previous year. There were 620 deaths, giving a
death-rate per 1,000 of 129 . 8 against 128 in 1880 and 130 in 1879. If 155
moribund cases are excluded, the death-rate becomes 100 against 96 . 8 last year.
The death-rate among the Christians treated was 64 against 69 . 6 and
69 . 1 in 1880 and 1879. The mortality among the native patients was at the
rate of 185 per 1,000 against 195 in 1880 and 190 in 1879. The death-rate
from fevers was 48 . 1 for Christians and 107 . 5 for natives. From cholera the
rate was 500 and 466 respectively. During the year only 464 patients were
sent to the Campbell Hospital against 537 in 1880. Both years were much
below the average on account of the reduced space available in the Campbell
Hospital.
12. In the General Hospital the number of patients treated fell from 3,168
in 1880 to 2,863 in the year under review. The greater part of the decrease of
305 occurred among the sailors, of whom there were only 1,444 during 1881
against 1,661 in the previous year. There were 239 paying and 1,180 non-
paying patients against 247 and 1,260 respectively in 1880. The falling off
among the number of sailors treated is attributed partly to their having
resorted more largely to the Howrah Hospital than formerly. The number a
deaths was 137 against 102 in 1880, the death-rate being 47 . 8 against 32.
There were 19 deaths from cholera, 11 from dysentery, 5 from typhoid fever,
16 from phthisis, 5 from pneumonia, and 8 from remittent fever ; 59 major and