112
DISPENSARIES IN OUDH.
[Part III.
Writing on the subject of native subscriptions :—
All the superintendents complain of the insufficiency of native subscriptions. One
general feeling in towns is that as the local grants are from the town duties, and the inhabitants
pay towards the town duties, they also thus pay towards the dispensary. The necessity for
private subscriptions from natives of the town and the neighbourhood has to be often
put before them by the civil authorities: yet in the instance of funds being required for new
buildings, &c., people have always come forward well.
Sale of medicines at
cost price.
On the subject of the sale of medicines at cost prices, Mr. Ross' obser-
vations show that the privilege is not appreciated by the people.
Dispensaries in the
Central India Agency.
Deputy Surgeon-General J. T. C. Ross was well satisfied with the manner in
which the medical work of the Central Provinces was carried on. Except in Sagor
and Dumoh, all civil surgeons performed their duties with energy and credit.
The 40 dispensaries under the Central India Agency were worked by
1 assistant surgeon, 15 hospital assistants, and 24 locally entertained native
doctors. The dispensaries are appreciated and do much good. The order of
the agency is that civil surgeons are to visit their branch dispensaries
once a year, and this was done. The locally educated men are reported to
work well. There were 17 amputations performed at Indore for sloughing
sores. Of these five died. Dr. Ross writes :—
I extract from Dr Beaumont's report the peculiar geographical distribution of the
sloughing phagedænas. It coincides with my experiences of the localities as reported last
year. The line of demarcation may indeed be taken as the Nerbudda river, as cases occur at
Hoshangabad, Nursingpore, and Jubbulpore, but not to the southward. " Sloughing phagedæna
may now be considered endemic. It has been more prevalent than ever on the Vindhyan
range from the Sinirole Ghât on the eastward, to where this range ends in the Khymoun
hills of the Rewah States westward of Sinirole (Bheel Country). It was not known, nor has it
been heard of in the Suthpoora hills which form the southern boundary of the Nerbudda
valley as the Vindhyas do on the north."
Hypodermic injec-
tion of quinine.
Dr. Beaumont has employed the neutral sulphate of quinine hypodermically
nearly 3,000 times without a single case of sloughing; and he speaks highly of
its value as a mode of treatment. His experience is the very opposite of
Dr. Rice's, for the former surgeon finds that the people highly appreciate the
treatment and flock in large numbers to be injected.
DISPENSARIES IN OUDH.
Number of institu-
tions.
At the end of the year 1872 there were 12 sudder and 14 branch dispen-
saries in Oudh, but there were 15 branch dispensaries opened during the pre-
sent year, and at the end of the year the total number in operation was
12 sudder and 29 branch dispensaries, in addition to the following institutions
viz., the Bulrampore hospital, King's hospital and the Unanee, or Greek
hospital.
Number treated.
In these institutions were treated 188,291 persons against 144,712 in
1872, that is, there was an increase of 43,579 in the total attendance. Of
the total, 6,869 were in-patients and 181,422 were out-patients. A proportion
of 1.68 per cent. of the total population was, according to these figures, relieved
medically.
The report does not contain any summarised return of surgical operations,
nor are there any comments on the general working of the medical institutions
of the province and their amalgamated results. Each institution is com-
mented upon separately. It is therefore not easy to take in rapidly all
that has been done, and to apply the broad considerations which suggest them-
selves concerning the medical relief of a province. The utility of preserving
the individuality of an institution in a report is obvious, but the utility of
so arranging the subject-matter as to permit of broadly comprehensive and
comparative views and deductions is equally apparent.
Surgical operations.
From table No. 1 it will be seen that 306 major and 8,461 minor operations
were performed; of the major operations 47 took place at the Bara Banki Dis-
pensary, 32 at Shahganj, 26 at King's hospital, Lucknow, 24 at Pratabgurh, 22
at Bharaich, 20 at Rai Barielly, 17 at the Bulrampore hospital, 16 at Sultanpore,
14 each at Gonda, Fyzabad and Hardui, the others giving lower numbers. The
report does not indicate the nature of these operations; mention is, however,
made in the briefest possible manner in a few scattered sentences in different
parts of the report of 83 of the major operations; they were as follows: litho¬