397
There were 22 cases of small-pox admitted, of which 15 died and 7 were discharged. Most of these are unvaccinated cases, and the majority infants.
1,875 people were vaccinated, 1,782 at the Hospital and 93 in the Out-Stations. A free supply of calf lymph is sent to this Hospital every year by me.
LOCK HOSPITAL.
This work has been carried on for the past year in the buildings temporarily hired for the pur- pose; but, in the course of another month, it will be removed to its permanent quarters which have so long been occupied by the Nursing Staff of the Government Civil Hospital, both buildings being very inappropriate for the purpose for which they were in use but the best temporary arrangement that it was possible to make as I have before reported.
Mrs. ACKERS, the Matron, returned this year from her well-earned leave in England, much to the delight of her little patients.
I am happy to report that the benefits these women receive from the Hospital are appreciated more and more every year since the Contagious Diseases Ordinance was abolished in 1887, the voluntary attendance on the examinations has improved year by year since that date. No coërcion whatever is used to make them attend the examinations or to make them stay in Hospital when found to be diseased.
The following Table shows the number of registered women for the last seven years, the number of examinations made, the attendance being once a week, the number of examinations supposing every woman attended once a week, and defect in attendance compared with the real number of examinations made, and the amount of disease found amongst them :--
1885,
1886,
1887*,
1888,
1889,
1890, 1891,
YEAR.
No. OF WOMEN ON REGISTER.
No. OF
No. of EXAMINATIONS.
DEFECT
EXAMINATIONS EVERY WOMAN
IN
MADE.
ATTENDING
ONCE A WEEK.
ATTENDANCE.
DISEASE FOUND AND HEALED.
272
13,532
14,344
812
416
272
13,425
14,344
919
414
272
12,223
14,344
1,765
143
269
10,924
13,988
3,064
66
269
10,924
13,988
3,064
83
260
11,914
13,520
1,606
82
276
12,788
14,352
1,564
80
* September 1, 1887, Compulsory attendance abolished.
No woman is examined when her monthly discharge is on, and allowance has to be made besides for ordinary sickness. The deficit amounts to a little over 5 attendances for each woman in a year not much when the above causes for absence are allowed for. The deficit is the smallest since 1886, the last whole year when compulsory attendance was enforced.
The number of registered women has increased by 16. The number of admissions to Hospital was 80 as compared with 82 in 1890. There were some half dozen very bad cases which from their long stay in Hospital very considerably raised our average of days under treatment; one of these cases was of a Phagedenic type which is rarely seen.
No returns are now sent in by the Navy which is much to be regretted as it has upset the statistics of many years and their Tables showed better, in conjunction with the Police, the amount of disease attributable to the registered women.
The Military are unreliable, for it is noticeable that every year a Regiment remains here the amount of disease increases. Their knowledge of the town increases and they distribute their favours more among unregistered women. The Naval seamen go to the places most readily to be found. The Police confine themselves more to the Registered Houses as they find them safer; they are better paid than the soldiers and their stoppages are heavy when off duty from their own indiscretions. The ordinary seamen treated in Hospital do not afford any comparison, as many of them contract the disease in other Ports, and doubtless disease contracted in this Port is not discovered until after they have left in many cases.
The Military show an increase of 33 cases from all causes, being 452 as compared with 419 admissions to Hospital in 1890. There is an increase of 29 cases of constitutional disease, being 82 admissions this year as compared with 53 in 1890.
In the Police there is a decrease of disease of 12, there were 57 admissions this year from all causes as compared with 69 in 1890. A decrease of 1 in the admissions from constitutional disease, there being 5 admissions from this cause compared with 6 in 1890.