Annual report / Municipality of Singapore, Health Department.

  • Singapore. Municipality Health Department.
Date:
[1932]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Annual report / Municipality of Singapore, Health Department. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    46/112 (page 44)
    hand, it is certain that if an infected woman can be treated during her pregnancy, or for the major part of it, there is every chance that her child will be born free of the taint. And there are hopeful signs that we might expect at least a measure of success in any such campaign of treatment, for, in the course of the investigation, we found several mothers, who, when the position was fully explained to them, such was their desire for a viable and a healthy child, willingly underwent long periods of treatment at Government and other institutions. Without wishing to criticise anyone or any institution, I would like to say that, in my opinion, the matter of the treatment of these women must be entirely dissociated from all question of Social Hygiene, and what that at present stands for in Singapore. It should be regarded as entirely a medical matter. I feel that the Municipal Welfare Clinics, at the moment at any rate, are best equipped for this work. They have a trained staff of nurses of the same nationality of the bulk of the mothers, and the organisation for following up the cases. Nor should it be for¬ gotten that even Asiatic women don’t like to be labelled “ V.D.” There is always the “ baby ” to give as a reason for attendance at our Clinics. Such an extension of our ante natal activities must of necessity be fairly costly, and perhaps this is neither the time nor the place to ask for increased expenditure. But I might suggest that if Government cared to divert some of the money at present spent under the heading of Social Hygiene, we could promise some tangible results for it. CERTIFICATION OF DEATHS. The following return shows the number of deaths, the causes of which were certified by Medicalmen, Inspecting Registrars and the Coroner respectively:— Europeans Eurasians Chinese Malays Indians Others Total Medicalmen 38 70 5,095 329 413 79 6,024 Registrars 1 7 1,889 719 179 15 2,810 Coroner 7 4 534 26 64 11 646 Total . . 46 81 7,518 ! 1,074 656 105 9,480 This gives a percentage of 63.5 certified by Medicalmen as against 63.6 last year. 29.6 by Registrars as against 31.6 last year and 6.8 certified by the Coroner as against 4.8 last year. The percentages for the last 10 years have been as follows:— ! 1923 19241 192511926 i 1 |1927 1928 1 | 1929 j 1930 1931 | 1932 Medicalmen 55.4 | | 58.5j 58.7! 59.6 63.6^ 65.1 66.0 68.2 63.6 63.5 Registrars 37.3 35.0 33.9 34.1 30.1 28.9 1 29.1 28.4 31.6 29.6 Coroner 7.1 6.3] 7.2| 6.2 1 6.2j 5.9 4.8 3.3 4.8 6.8