CONTENTS-Contd.
X. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Paragraph Number
Introduction.
I.
GENERAL
Exchange Information
134
Assistance received, Technical
Material
135
XI. ACCOUNTS
Occupational Therapy Fund
Samaritan Fund
Nurses Rewards and Fines Fund
XIL MAPS
XIIL APPENDICES
Vi
1.
The year has been one of strenuous effort against increasing difficulties and it is gratifying to be able to report no deterioration in the general level of public health but rather a definite, if moderate, improvement.
2. The demands on the services provided by the Depart- ment have steadily increased and all sub-departments, hospitals and clinics worked not only to full capacity but beyond what might have reasonably been considered full capacity. The volume of work done by all services and centres therefore shows a considerable increase over previous years. Normally during the cooler weather attendances at out-patient clinics tend to fall off, but this year during the cool season all out-patient clinics worked at what used to be considered peak hot season pressure and no sign of any slackening in attendance was apparent.
3. The year was marked by a phenomenally dry summer resulting in an acute water shortage which was reflected in the incidence of the "dirt" diseases, the diarrhoeas, enteric fevers and dysenteries. In spite of this the incidence of these diseases did not exceed or even reach the peak incidence of the previous year, which was also a dry hot year, when at one time the number of cases of enteric fever admitted daily threatened to swamp the hospital facilities completely. That this crisis has been avoided once more and the position slightly improved cannot be entirely disassociated from the vigorous propaganda and vaccination campaign carried out by the Department.
4. There were several major fires in squatter areas which necessitated the continued provision of emergency medical and sanitary measures during the year. The last of the emergency maternity hospitals however was closed in August, 1954, but one general out-patient clinic was still in operation at the end of the
year.
I