24
LUNATIC ASYLUMS IN BENGAL.
year after year for the purpose of any useful or instructive comparison with the
results of other years."
YEAR.
1871-76
...
...
1877...
...
...
Daily
average
strength.
54
44.7
Average
number
admitted
annually.
22.5
......
DISCHARGED.
Cured.
10.3
1
Improved.
3.1
5
Otherwise.
.5
......
Deaths.
3.6
4
Deaths per
cent. of
mean
strength.
6.6
8.9
Cures per
cent. of
mean
strength.
19.1
2.2
Cures per
cent. of
admission.
45.7
......
3. The following passage from Mr. Shircore's report is extracted:—
" In my report on this asylum for 1876 it was stated that it had been
decided by Government to reserve Moydapore exclusively for the accommo-
dation of female lunatics (vide Government of Bengal letter No. 3212, dated
7th November 1876, to the address of the Surgeon-General, Indian Medical
Department). This scheme, however, was never carried into effect; and on
the occasion of the present Lieutenant-Governor's visit to this station in the
latter part of August last, on hearing that there was at the time sufficient
room in the Berhampore Lunatic Asylum for the accommodation of the
inmates of both the asylums, His Honor ordered the Moydapore patients
to be transferred to the Berhampore Asylum. Subsequently orders to the
same effect were conveyed in Government of Bengal letter No. 2128T., dated
8th October 1877, to the address of the Surgeon-General, Indian Medical
Department, from which it will be seen that ' it is not His Honor's
intention to have the Moydapore Asylum closed altogether. To prevent
overcrowding in the Berhampore Asylum, a certain number of lunatics should
be sent back to the Moydapore Asylum whenever the number of lunatics in
the former exceeds that which it can easily accommodate.' Meanwhile the
inmates of both asylums are located at Berhampore."
Capacity.
4. The asylum can accommodate 68 insanes (58 males and 10 females),
calculated at the standard allowance of 50 superficial feet per inmate. Taking
the daily average strength of the asylum, which amounted to 44.7 (34.6 males
and 10 females), it will be observed that both classes of lunatics were very
favourably circumstanced in respect of accommodation. The maximum number
confined on any one night was 50, comprising 38 males and 12 females.
Recovered,
improved, &c.
5. Of the six inmates who left the asylum out of the 50 remaining on the
31st December 1876, one man was discharged cured, and four men and one wo-
man had so far improved under treatment as to be made over to the custody of
their friends and relatives. The percentage of discharged cured to the daily
number of inmates amounted to 13.4, against 9.3 in 1876. " This result,"
writes Mr. Shircore, " no doubt appears very unsatisfactory; but it must be
remembered that there has been no accession of fresh cases for more than three
years, and those who are now left in the asylum are, with the exception of a
few criminal inmates, all hopelessly chronic and confirmed cases of insanity
that are not likely ever to be cured."
Sickness.
6. There was less sickness during 1877 than in the previous year, the
daily average number of hospital patients being only 2.9, against 3.6 in 1876.
The diseases which caused the principal admissions for the two years are given
below :—
Fevers.
1876.
82
1877.
40
Dysentery.
1876.
4
1877.
8
Diarrhœa.
1876.
22
1877.
13
Dropsy.
1876.
1
1877.
5
Bronchitis.
1876.
2
1877.
3
Epilepsy.
1876.
...
1877.
2
All diseases.
1876.
124
1877.
80
The total number treated during the year amounted to 82, so that only two
cases remained in hospital from last year, viz. one case of ague and one case of
dysentery. The daily average number of sick was 2.9 (males 2.21 and females
.69), or at the rate of 6.48 per cent. of mean strength. The cases of fever, which
were all of malarious origin, unattended with organic complications, amounted
to 40 which was less by 42 than the number admitted into hospital during the
previous year. Diarrhœa and dysentery were the diseases next in order of
frequency. Of the five cases of general dropsy, two proved fatal. These two