CALCUTTA MEDICAL INSTITUTIONS.
13
The increase was chiefly due to the purchase of new clothing, which cost
Rs. 4,334, against Rs. 2,057 in 1881. The expenditure under this head is
regulated by periodical requirements, and Dr. Birch says that the clothing of
the hospital is still very imperfect, and very large quantities of old and worn-
out clothing need to be replaced. The outlay under “Miscellaneous items ”
does not represent the entire cost, as many items which should have been
charged under this head have been entered under “ Bazar medicines.”
52. The expenditure on buildings amounted to Rs. 10,122, of which
Rs. 6,317 were spent on quadrennial repairs to the hospital. In 1881 the
expenditure was Rs. 14,566.
53. At the end of the year there remained from the Prince Golam
Mahomed fund a balance of Rs. 5,599. Large calls upon this fund are
anticipated this year in connection with the Darjeeling hospital.
54. Campbell hospital.— The total receipts from local sources amounted
to Rs. 31,443, of which Rs. 30,000 were paid by the municipality and Rs. 1,443
were obtained by sale of grass, angling fees, donation from the Begum of
Bhopal, and money received from emigration depôts, Eastern Bengal railway,
&c. Of the latter sum, Rs. 734 were expended in the hospital for extra mallies
and garden necessaries, and the rest remitted to treasury to the credit of the
institution. Government contributed Rs. 47,055, against Rs. 71,853 in 1881.
There is no invested capital or floating balance in this hospital.
55. The total expenditure in 1882 was Rs. 78,498 against Rs. 1,02,773
in the preceding year. Excluding the sums expended in both the years for
buildings, the amount spent on ordinary requirements of the hospital was
Rs. 58,404 against Rs. 53,299. The expenditure on all items shows a decrease,
except the establishment and miscellaneous charges.
56. The cost of establishment was Rs. 24,697, exceeding by Rs. 684 that
of 1881. This increase is partly due to the apothecary having had an increase
to his pay, and to one of the resident surgeons having been on sick leave for
three months. The explanation, however, does not give fully the reasons for
the increased expenditure under the head. In my last report I stated that
half the salary of the five resident assistant surgeons was debited to the hospital
and the other half in the school accounts. It appears now from a statement
furnished by the Accountant-General that the pay of four resident assistant
surgeons at Rs. 50 per month and that of one at Rs. 100 a month are debited
to the hospital account.
57. The expenditure on dieting articles and stimulants amounted to
Rs. 17,530, against Rs. 20,281 in 1881. The fall in the expenditure was
partly owing to fewer patients having been treated in 1882 than in the
previous year, but mainly to greater cheapness of provisions in the past year
as compared with 1881. The cost of dieting each patient per diem was 2
annas 2 pie, against 2 annas 4 pie in 1881. On the savings effected in the
year under report, Dr. Nicholson remarks that “ while the diets, extras, &c.,
actually cost less per head last year than 1881, practically there was com-
paratively a larger expenditure upon extras and stimulants, so that the savings
effected is not in any way due to patients being stinted in the supply of extras
and stimulants.”
58. The cost of bazar medicines was Rs. 1,919, against Rs. 2,051.
European medicines cost Rs. 2,011 in 1882 against Rs. 2,729.
59. The expenditure on miscellaneous items was Rs. 12,245 in 1882
against Rs. 4,224, that is, it exceeded by Rs. 8,021 the outlay of the preceding
year. Most of the iron bedsteds had to be repaired and repainted during the
year. A larger amount of clothing was purchased. There was also an
expenditure of Rs. 1,000 on office furniture required for alterations and
improvements in the dispensary. There was no outlay in 1881 under this head.
60. Building charges fell from Rs. 49,474 in 1881 to Rs. 20,094 in the
year under review. There was little or no expenditure incurred for repairs
to the buildings in 1882, as the quadrennial repairs to the hospital had been
completed in the preceding year. Two observation wards were erected in the
past year.
61. Police hospital.— The total expenditure amounted to Rs. 16,124 in
1882 against Rs. 16,151 in the previous year. Of this, five-sixths was paid