699626-1872-Annual-Report-Medical-for-1871- — Page 2

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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 23RD MARCH, 1872.

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brought to Hospital by the Police. The 2 cases of death from Leprosy were likewise cases of des- titute Chinese. It will also be observed in Table IV., that 16 cases were brought to Hospital in a moribund condition and help to swell the death rate of the institution, although they were really too far gone for treatment of any kind. Now that the new Chinese Hospital is opened, it is to be hoped that the Government Hospital will be relieved of a number of Chinese cases, for which there is really no accommodation, and which are, in many instances, dangerous to the health of the other patients in Hospital, besides materially interfering with their comfort. A detached building, formerly the Fever Hospital, was at one time used for the reception of destitute females. This has been absorbed in the new Lock Hospital, and the upper story of a Chinese house is hired for the reception of females. This place is found most inconvenient, both from its situation and ar- rangement, as the only approach to it is by a steep ladder less than 3 feet wide. Patients who are unable to walk have to be carried up this ladder, and in the case of fractures this mode of en- trance is not unattended with danger.

The accommodation afforded by the Government Hospital is, in every way, inadequate to the wants of the Colony. The building is badly planned and much too small. When the maximum number of 83 patients was in Hospital, there was a space of less than 900 cubic feet and 55 super- ficial feet to each patient, instead of 1,500 cubic feet and 100 superficial, which is the smallest quantity recommended by the Indian Sanitary Commission. I entered more fully into the various requirements of the Hospital in my Report of 29th May, 1871.

SMALL POX HOSPITAL.

In Appendix I., will be found a Report by Dr. ROBOTHAM on the Small-Pox Hospital at Stone Cutter's Island. On my appointment to the office of Acting Colonial Surgeon on the 19th of January, there was a considerable number of Small Pox cases in the Colony. On the 1st of January there were about 70 cases amongst Europeans and Colored men. As there was no ac- commodation for infectious diseases in the Civil Hospital, a temporary building had been erected in the rear of the Lock Hospital, where Small Pox patients were received. The disease being ap- parently on the increase, it was deemed advisable to concentrate the cases as much as possible, and so lessen the risks of contagion by diminishing the number of centres of infection. For this purpose the Colonial Government had a part of the Gaol on Stone Cutter's Island fitted up as an Hospital and placed under the care of Staff Surgeon ROBOTHAM. To this building all the cases were removed from the Civil Hospital, Gaol and Seamens' Hospital, and it was publicly announced that Small Pox cases would be treated at Stone Cutters' Island only. When the disease began to appear amongst the Troops, at the request of the Principal Medical Officer, military cases were also received at Stone Cutters' Island. The Police were ordered to report any case of Small Pox that came under their notice and to try and induce the person to come to Hospital for treat- ment. The soldiers were ordered to avoid the Western part of the town where the Chinese mostly dwell, and the liberty men from the ships of war were not allowed to land. The endeavour to prevent the spread of the disease was so far successful that only 5 cases occurred amongst the European-born civil population. The 75th Regiment, with the exception of one child, had not a single case. There were 25 cases among the Sepoys and Camp followers of the 13th Madras Native Infantry and 2 cases among the Gun Lascars. New cases continued to occur until the 15th May, when the last patient was admitted to Hospital. Most of the cases occurred in strangers, either from ship board or from Sailors' boarding-houses, and no one part of the native town could be said to suffer more than another. The Chinese were said to have suffered considerably and several dead bodies were found with the marks of recent Small Pox. Among the ships of war 19 men were seized with Small Pox, and these were treated on board the Flamer, which was moored off the Melville and used as a Small Pox Hospital. A full report of cases at Stone Cutter's Island will be found in the Report by Dr. ROBOTHAM, and as I visited the Hospital periodically, I can testify to the care and kindness with which the patients were treated by that Surgeon.

Table V. Rate of Mortality in the Civil Hospital during the last 14 years.

Table IX. shows the admissions and deaths during each month of 1871.

Tables A., B., & C., kindly furnished by Dr. ADAMS, show the statistics of the Seamen's Hospital for 1871.

III. THE GAOL.

The health of the prisoners has, on the whole, been very satisfactory. Soon after the rains began, cases of Diarrhoea and Fever were prevalent, but most of them were slight. The greatest number of prisoners in the Gaol was on the 31st of May, when there were 564, viz., 100 Europeans, 14 Colored, and 450 Chinese. The smallest number was on the 5th of March, when there were 450, viz., 59- European, 19 Colored, and 372 Chinese.

Table VII. shows the admission into Hospital and mortality during the year. Most of the deaths occurred in debilitated worn-out constitutions, only 2 being the result of acute disease. Of the 9 cases of Insanity, some were only temporarily insane and others were destitute imbeciles sent to Gaol by the Magistrates until claimed by their friends, or, in the case of Europeans, until forwarded to Europe by the Government.