82
MEDICAL AND SANITARY REPORT OF THE NATIVE ARMY OF BENGAL,
dampness by sleeping at night on the bare ground. In other respects the hospital,
notwithstanding the, increased number .of sick, provided ample accommodation ;
the patients were comfortably clothed and bedded ; the medical and surgical
appliances and comforts, and the equipment very satisfactory. Owing to the
large sick list both of the regiment and the depôts of three other regiments, the
medicines had become scanty, but an emergent indent was sanctioned for their
replenishment.
33rd (The Allahabad) Regiment, Aatibe Infantry—Delhi.
Medical
Officers.
Location and
movements.
Sickness,
mortality and
invaliding.
I. Medical Officers.—Various officers have held medical charge of the 33rd
Regiment, Native Infantry.
The report is written by
Surgeon A. Hemsted.
II. Location and movements.—
The regiment has been stationed
at Delhi throughout the year.
No detachments were furnished.
XIII. Sickness, mortality and
invaliding.—Strength of the re-
giment :—
Present . . . 643.72
Absent .
. . 67.22
Total . 710.94
YEAR.
STATION.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH.
Admissions. Deaths. Daily sick.
1873 . Allahabad, Nov. 1870 . 119.3
1.7
5.6
1874 . Ditto
. . 103.1
. 5
3.5
1875 . Delhi, 1st Jan. 1875
142.97
. 7 1
4.22
1876 . Ditto . . . . 193.39
1.28
5.82
1877 . Ditto . . . . 107.98
1.27
3.90
Average . . . 133.35
1.09
4.61
1878 . Delhi . . , . 213.13
3.23
7.51
Principal
causes of
sickness.
Inspection.
PERIOD.
TOTAL NUMBER
OF
Daily
average
sick.
PER CENT. OF STRENGTH
PER ANNUM.
STATION .
From
To
Strength. Admis
sions. Deaths.
Admis-
sions. Deaths. Dail
y average
sick.
Head- quarters, Delhi . 1st Jan. 1878 31st Dec. 1878 643.72 1,372 17
48.4 213.13 2.64 7.51
Number of deaths in hospital 17 ; out of hospital 6; total . 23; per cent. of total strength . . 3.23
„ invalided . . . .
. . . . 10 ; „
,,
.
. 1.40
sent on sick leave . . . . . . . 30 ; ,,
. . 4.21
„ of days spent in hospital 1766.6; per admission . 10.9 per man of total strength . . 2.48
,,
on sick leave 3316; per man . . 110.53; ,,
„
. . 4.66
Total temporary loss of service per man of total strength
. 7.14
XIV. Principal causes of sickness. —There is a great diminution in the admissions for
Delhi-boil, there being only 9 in November as compared with 23 in 1877.
Inspection.—This regiment was inspected at Umballa by Deputy Surgeon
General H. Mills Cannon, M.B., on the 3rd December 1878. He makes some
very strong observations in ,censure of the hospital arrangements, which could
only have been caused by great and continued neglect :—
(a.) There were no pillows as given by General Order No. 681 of 27th
July 1877.
(b.) Some quarterly sheets were missing.
(c.) There was not a grain of quinine or febrifuge in store on the day
of inspection, although there were then present 58 sick, of the
most part from malarious fever and dysentery.
(d.) The new camel trunks and petarrahs were useless ; infinitely in-
ferior and more defective than the old ones just condemned by a
survey board.
(e.) The bath-room does not appear to be used by the sick nearly as
much as it should be.
Dr. Cannon, however, noticed with satisfaction that the regiment appeared
in undress parade to be in much better health and physique than would have
been expected after the severe hospital list of the previous year.