( 3 )
compares favourably with that given in the large towns in England, though it is
probable that, with better arrangements, more women would attend the hospitals.
7. The death-rate for all the hospitals, excluding the Eye Infirmary, was
13 . 2 per cent. of the number of patients treated against 16 .4 in the former
year. Marked variations, depending on the class of patients admitted, occurred
at the several institutions. Thus the death-rate for men was .86 at the Police
Hospital, 21 at the Campbell Hospital, and 22 at the Howrah General
Hospital. Similarly, in the case of adult women, the Dufferin Victoria Hospital
shows a rate of .76, and the Campbell Hospital of 30. There has been a
considerable decrease in the death-rate of the Howrah General Hospital, due it
is reported to the comparative healthiness of the district in 1898, and to the
admission of fewer moribund persons.
8. Small-pox was less prevalent during the year, and the number of
patients admitted into hospitals suffering from the disease fell from 218 to 37.
With the exception of one case at the Mayo Native Hospital, the rest were
treated at the Campbell Hospital. There was only one European admitted to
the Campbell Hospital, against 41 in the previous year. Among those attacked,
23 were unprotected, and 11 of them, or 47.82 per cent., died. Of 10 persons
who had been vaccinated, one died, but the marks of vaccination were very
faint. The total death-rate was 32 against 30 in the previous year.
9. The number of admissions for cholera decreased from 1,200 to 227, and
the death-rate from 55 per cent. to 54 per cent. The decrease in admissions
is most marked in the Campbell Hospital, where only 89 cases were treated
against 535 in the previous year. Among the patients there were 17 Europeans
and Eurasians, of whom 10 died, a ratio of 59 per cent. The Lieutenant-
Governor notices with satisfaction that no case of cholera originated in any
of the institutions during the year.
10. The admissions to hospital on account of dysentery diminished from
8,415 to 5,571, and the death-rate from 34 to 30. While the death-rate among
Europeans and Eurasians was only 4 per cent., the rate among other classes
was 33. Diarrhœa cases fell off by 3,592, but the death-rate rose from 40
to 47. Malarial fever was less prevalent than in the preceding year, as was
shown by the decrease in admissions from 46,025 to 37,276. The death-rate
from fever decreased from 11 to 7 per cent. The number of persons treated
for venereal diseases decreased by 3,973. This diminution was shared by all
the institutions, except the Presidency General Hospital, where there was an
increase of 143 cases. Sixty-two cases of leprosy were admitted into the
hospitals during the year against 50 in the previous year, and of these 52 were
dealt with in the Campbell Hospital. There were 32 cases of enteric fever and
609 cases of remittent fever against 27 and 869 respectively in 1897. Of the
32 cases, 30 were Europeans and Eurasians. Special arrangements were made
in the hospitals for the treatment of plague cases, and 135 patients were
treated, of whom 116 died.
11. The total number of surgical operations decreased from 25,745 to
21,610, owing to the falling off in the attendance of patients, due, as explained
before, to the plague scare. Death followed in 154 cases, giving a percentage
of .71 against .70 in the previous year. The largest number of operations was
performed at the Medical College Hospital, where the death-rate was .96 against
.78. The increase is attributed to a larger number of operations of a serious
nature having been performed. There were only 17 important operations at the
Presidency General Hospital, as compared with 33 and 42 during the previous
two years. At the Campbell Hospital there were 1,539 surgical cases, but
none of these were performed by the Superintendent. This subject was
noticed in the Resolution issued last year. It appears that the Superin-
tendent has duties as Police Surgeon which prevent him from taking
up surgical work in the Hospital. The Lieutenant-Governor is disposed to
agree with Colonel Hendley that this is an unsatisfactory arrangement, consid-
ering the importance of the surgical work in this Hospital, which is also a
medical school. His Honour will be prepared to consider any proposal that
would enable the Superintendent of the Hospital to devote a portion of his time
towards this important object. In the Dufferin Victoria Hospital the number
of operations rose from 1,441 to 1,631. Most of these were of a trivial nature.
The Lieutenant-Governor notices with satisfaction the large number of