( 2 )
during the year under report. At Patna there was stress of accommodation
in the male criminal ward, and the contingency of overcrowding was obviated
by the timely transfer, under the orders of Government, of 20 lunatics to the
other asylums—10 to Dullunda and 10 to Berhampore. There was some tem-
porary overcrowding in the female ward of the Bhowanipur Asylum. New
wards are being constructed, which will provide rooms for five females.
Statement II.
7. Criminal lunatics.—Admissions were greater by 14. Berhampore
showed an excess of 19, for which no satisfactory
reason can be assigned. There were 13 readmis-
sions, against 20 in 1900. Discharges were fewer by 13 and deaths fell off by
19—a significant fact. It is also noticeable that the daily average stre ngth was
greater than in 1900: in fact, greater than in any of the previous ten years.
Only eight cases (two at Dullunda and six at Dacca) were discharged during
1901 under the Committee's rules regarding the disposal of recovered criminal
lunatics.
Statements III, IV, and V.
8. No remarks.
Statement VI.
9. There was one case of general paralysis of the insane in the Dullunda
Asylum—a rare type in India. The recorded
details of this case leave no room for doubt as to
the correctness of the diagnosis. The lunatic is still in the asylum.
Statement VII.
10. Of the 249 admissions, 36.95 per cent. were attributed to physical
causes, 12.45 per cent. to moral causes, and in
50.60 per cent. the cause was said to be unknown.
It is in this latter respect that an appreciable improvement is visible, for in
1900 the causes of 64.8 per cent. of the cases were not known. The report of
1901 shows that greater efforts were made to ascertain the causes, although in
many instances they are unreliable. The number of ganja cases was 47,
against 23 in 1900. This cause was accepted after careful enquiries and
personal observation of individual cases by the Superintendents. Two cases
were ascribed to bhang. Both recovered during the year under report. There
was very little improvement during 1901 in the preparation of medical history
sheets. The subject will be treated fully in the next report.
11. Sickness and mortality.—The following table shows the total number
treated and the results for the last two years:—
Remained in hospital on 1st January ... ...
Admitted during the year
...
...
Total ...
Discharged ...
...
...
...
Died
...
...
...
...
Remaining on 31st December ... ...
Total ...
Percentage of admission to average strength ...
Average daily number sick
...
...
Percentage of constantly sick to average strength ...
Ditto
of deaths to average strength ...
1900.
102
968
1,070
884
99
87
1,070
103.32
79.84
8.52
10.67(a)
1901.
87
576
663
534
58
71
663
58.39
77.15
7.82
6.18(b)
(a) This is inclusive of one death outside the hospital.
(b) Inclusive of three deaths outside the hospital.
Judging from the statistics presented above, it may be stated that the
lunatics enjoyed excellent health during 1901. Not only did the admissions to
hospitals show a considerable reduction (576 against 968), but the death-rate
per cent. on average strength was also exceptionally low, it being 6.18
against 10.67 in 1900. The percentage of deaths compares very favourably
with those obtained in 1901 in the North-Western Provinces and Oudh (8.79),
the Punjab (11.40), Bombay (10), and Burmah(8.81). There were three deaths
outside the hospitals, and if they are excluded, the rate of mortality in the
Bengal asylums will stand at 5.88 per cent. All the native asylums showed
a lessened mortality, especially at Dacca, where the death-rate was 4.80