HONGKONG.
THE COLONIAL SURGEON'S REPORT, FOR 1885.
281
No. 32.
Presented to the Legislative Council by Command of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government,
on 14th May, 1886.
GOVERNMENT CIVIL HOSPITAL,
HONGKONG, 10th May, 1886.
SIR,-I have the honour to forward my Annual Report for the year 1885, together with the Tables showing the work done in the different Establishments in my Department I also forward reports from the Superintendent of the Government Civil Hospital, the Superintendent of the Lock Hospital, and the Government Analyst.
POLICE.
The admissions from the Police Force to Hospital show the slight increase of nine in 1885 as compared with the admissions in 1884. For the last five years the number of admissions to Hospital have been as follows:-1881, 498; 1882, 549; 1883, 599; 1884, 486; and 1885, 495; so that the impro- vement in the health of the whole Force taken as a total, when the strength of the different years is taken into consideration, still continues. The average strength of the Force in the last five years has been as follows:-1881, 624; 1882, 582; 1883, 658; 1884, 666; and 1885, 674.
There were nine deaths in the Force this year, viz., three Europeans, one Indian and five Chinese. Two Europeans died in Hospital, one from cellulitis and one from heat apoplexy. The other died in his own quarters from apoplexy. The Indian died while in India on leave. Of the Chinese, three died in Hospital, one of these of cholera, the rest away in China on leave.
Table I shows the admissions of each section of the Force to Hospital in the different months of the year, the largest numbers being as usual during the summer months.
Table II gives the average strength of the different sections of the Force, the deaths, rate of sickness and mortality to strength.
Table III shows the admissions to Hospital from the different stations and districts of the several sections of the Force during each month of the year.
The Central District Stations, as usual, show up worst, but this year worse than ever in the Euro- pean portion of the Force, for while the Indian and Chinese sections in this district show a decrease respectively of 14 and 7 admissions, the European section shows an increase of 36. The admissions froin this portion of the Force in this district in 1884 were 41, whereas in 1885 they numbered 77.
Whitfeild Station still holds its, own as the worst of the outstations, sending on the worst type of malarial fever cases, and this is entirely due to the great amount of earth cutting in virgin soil going on in the neighbourhood.
The other stations were about the same average as last year. The only station that has been improved is that of the Water Police, on being removed from a Hulk to a large and airy building on shore.
The admissions to Hospital from the various sections of the Force for the last five years are as follows:-
Europeans.
Indians.
Chinese.
Admissions to Hospital, 1881...
88
212
198
Do.,
1882
92
230
227
Do.,
1883.......
.113
246
239
Do.,
1884....
87
224
175
Do.,
1885...
.124
208
163