The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-06-13 00:00:00

250
12

.
Of these 66 men and 86 women are at Forston. The
out-county patients, who are only received from the
boroughs of Portsmouth, Southampton, and Poole.
number 49 men and r women. The weekly charge for
these is 145., for private patients 10a. and (during the last
quarter) for the county patients only is.. though we
understand that it will be higher during the next. The
vacant beds are five in the male division and eight in the
female.

• -fie—following have been the admissions, discharges, and
deaths, since the last visit :
YAWL YAM. TOIA L.

Admitted

. ...
Discharged . . 21 ... 61 ... 51
Of those discharged NI were reported to have recovered.
There has been no epidemic here, and except in two
cases, the causes of death offer no special subject for
remark. An old man of the name of Clench, was pushed
doyen by another patient, an epileptic. and sustained •
fracture of five ribs. The fracture was discovered by the
Medical Officer on the someday. but the patient, who was
in very feeble health. died on the second day following
the accident. The other CAW is that of a female patient,
an epileptic, who was found at five in the morning, by the
night nurse, on her face in her bed, and dead. Inquests
were held in both these instance*.
" The system of night watching here has not been altered
I since the last visit, when an opinion, in which we agree
was expressed, that the visitation of the wards once in
I two hours was not sufficient. In order, however, to
prevent occurrences, such as that lastly above-mentioned,
t is necessary that the epileptics should be placed to-
gether, if possible, in one dormitory at night, under the
I charge of an attendant baying no other duty to attend to
' beyond their constant supervision. We are glad to hear
that this a matter which is about to he immediately con-
sidered by the committee ; and though there are structural
difficulties which may prevent the whole of the epileptics
and suicidal cases being placed together, yet Mr. Symes
thinks that alterations may be made which will allow
of a much larger number being so collected than are at
present. To render any such alterations effective, it will
of course be essential that another night attendant should
he appointed for each division.
Postmortem examinations have been made in twelve
instances No restraint has been employed, but six men
have been secluded altogether on 76 occasions, and two
women altogether on It These patients were not placed
in a padded room, but kept in bed with the door locked
on them. In the cases of four of the men this was done
on account of epileptic attache, in all the remaining
instances for maniacal excitement.
Eleven male and 1/4 female patients are returned as
under medical treatment, and four of each sex were yester-
day in bed.
Except as regards two or three of the women at Forston,
who were somewhat excited, we can report very favour-
able of the orderly conduct of the Patients at both
Asylums.
At Foretop, we found the bedding in good order, and
the wards clean. Between that portion of the
occupied by Mr. Bland, and the kitchen, there was a most
offensive smell, proceeding from one of the drains, which
we understood has been noticed for some little time. No
delay whatever should be allowed in remedying this, and
it would probably be well that attention should at the
same time be paid to the state of the drains and cesspools
generally. We have the pleasure of stating that all but
four (in the way of the removal of which there are
structural difficulties) of the email round windows, and all
except four of the tiled floors of the sleeping rooms have
been taken away, in the female division, and saab windows
and wooden floors substituted. On the men's side the tiled
floors remain, but we hope only temporarily, and the
windews, with four exceptions, have been altered as on
the other side. The dress of the women was fairly good,
but we think that the men require more care bestowed
upon them in this respect. There are many very trouble-
some patienta here, and we think the present staff of
attendants is insufficient to secure for them the requisite
amount of attention.
The observations we have made regarding the condition
of the bedding and the wards at Fenton, apply equally te
those at Charminster, where the latter are, naturally,
more cheerful aad comfortable. In both divisions here
the state of the patients, as regards personal cleanliness
and tidiness of dress, was very satisfactory.
We have men all the patients, except one woman who
is out on trial: and though we cannot record a total
absence of complaints, we had none made to us that we
thought well founded.
With respect to some of the usual ina.ters of Statutory
enquiry, we were informed that the numbers employed
average from 115 to 120 of the men, and from 110 to 160 of
the women, that between 50 and 60 men and between 10
and 50 women are taken out for walks beyond the Asylum
grounds on two days in the week.
The associated entertainments are, during the summer,
held out of doers. This mode of amusement seems to be
almost limited to the patients at Charminster, there
having been only four entertainments given at Forston
during last winter. We should be glad if they could be
arranged for the patients there, more frequently. We are
sorry to find that the attendance at chapel on Sundays is
still small, averaging only from 50 to Ile of each sex at
Charinineter, and 50 to 60 of both sexes at Forston.
The wages of the attendants have been raised. The
ordinary male attendants receive, for the first six months,
123, and then £ll5. The charge attendants, LV and thee
130.
The charge female attendante have, for the first six
months, £l7, and then k2O. The under nurses £l5, and
then AFL
In the Female Airing Court, No. :1, where the ground
is sloped away and built up to some height on one side, to
afford access to a door, a patient recently fell down,
without however injuring herself; orders have, however,
been given for a railing to be placed there, to prevent the
recurrence of such an accident.
Besides the beneficial improvements and alterations we
have already noticed, we have the pleasure of reporting
the enclosure of the cemetery and the completion of the
mortuary chapel—a building of excellent design, and in
all respecte most suitably arranged for the object for
which it has been erected.
aIISVILLE HOWARD, k commissioners in
HOLUM N otter, I Lunacy.