TRIENNIAL REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE LUNATIC
ASYLUM IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCES FOR THE
YEARS 1912, 1913 AND 1914.
Officers-in-charge.
Lieutenant-Colonel A. Buchanan, I.M.S., was in charge from 1st January
1912 to 4th October 1913 when he was relieved by
Major P. F. Chapman, I.M.S., who remained in charge
to the end of the period under report.
STATEMENT I.
Accommodation and popula-
tion.
2. The accommodation which was for 399 (273 males and 126 females)
at the close of the last triennium was raised to 400, i. c.,
by one on the male side, which was provided for when
the remodelling of Ward No. I was completed during the
year 1914. At the close of 1914 there were 290 males and 84 females in the
Asylum. There was slight overcrowding on the male side during the year 1914
if judged from the number of inmates in the Asylum, but a greater number of
inmates than the capacity of each ward provided were never locked up. This
was due to not locking up the recovered non-criminal and criminal lunatics in
the latter half of the period of their discharge. They numbered about 20.
These were kept out in the verandah of the wards along with the warders, as has
been usual for the past 8 years, to help in night rounds. The largest number
present on any one night during the last three years was: —
232
246
292
males and 57
„ 69
„ 84
females in 1912
„
1913
„
1914
The tendency to increase in the admissions is partly due to high prices and
hard times, the poor finding it difficult to support their insane relatives, and
partly to the fact that people now understand better the value of the asylum
treatment for lunatics. Three patients voluntarily applied for admission as
boarders at the close of the triennium.
Admissions and re-admissions.
3. At the close of the last triennium 286 lunatics remained in the Asylum.
There were 285 admissions in the three years under
report against 277 in the preceding three years.
Discharges.
4. The discharges were 127 against 164 in the preceding triennium, and
the condition of each patient on discharge was " cured"
100, " improved " 22, and " otherwise " 5. These five
were criminal lunatics who were transferred to the list of non-criminals. There
were no escaped lunatics at large at the close of the triennium against 2 in the
preceding triennium. Of those discharged cured, 79 suffered from mania, 11
from melancholia, 5 from delusional insanity, 1 from circular insanity, and 4 from
insanity of haschisch.
Sickness and mortality.
5. There were 338 admissions into the hospital against 418 in the previous
three years, mostly for dysentery, old age and general
debility, epilepsy, acute mania, forcible feeding, phthisis,
leprosy and heart disease. There were 70 deaths, vis., 29 in 1912, 20 in 1913
and 21 in 1914, against 128 in the previous three years. Six cases of phthisis
were admitted against none in the previous triennium ; of these, 4 were received
from outstations and 2 contracted the disease in the Asylum, although all
possible precautions were taken to prevent the spread of the disease. These
patients were immediately segregated and others prevented from going near
them. A proposal for the isolation of the male and female patients suffering
from infectious diseases has been approved by the Official Visitors, and the
Executive Engineer has been asked to prepare the necessary plans and
estimates.
As a routine, all new admissions were segregated for 10 days, and such as
were found suffering from infectious diseases or from worms were kept apart and
treated.
Owing to the detection of intestinal worms among the inmates of the Asylum
during the year 1911 the examination of the stools of new admissions as well as