Thirteenth annual report of the Committee of Visitors, Medical Superintendent, and chaplain, with an account of receipts and expenditure, for the year ended 31st December, 1883 / Moulsford Lunatic Asylum.

  • Moulsford Lunatic Asylum.
Date:
[1884?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Thirteenth annual report of the Committee of Visitors, Medical Superintendent, and chaplain, with an account of receipts and expenditure, for the year ended 31st December, 1883 / Moulsford Lunatic Asylum. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/80 (page 14)
    on the part of the attendants, who have now the gratification of witnessing two of the worst cases ap¬ proaching a state of convalescence. The prolonged and obstinate refusal of food so as to require feeding the stomach-pump was recorded regarding 25 cases, the majority of whom required the operation only a few times; but two were so persistent as to require it, one on 114 and the other on 152 occasions. Altogether the artificial administration of food in this manner was resorted to on 503 occasions throughout the year. The proportion of those reported or discovered to be of faulty habits was somewhat less ; 43 being the number recorded as being either wet, filthy, or de¬ structive, about one-half manifesting all of those pro¬ pensities. In regard to the bodily health and condition of the admissions, only 11 were after examination found to be in good bodily health and condition, 49 were in indifferent health, of whom 20 were in ordinary con¬ dition and 29 more or less physically reduced, 26 were in feeble health, 14 in very feeble health and all ex¬ hibiting various degrees of reduced condition which in eight instances extended to a marked state of emaciation. It may, however, be mentioned that it was a source of much gratification to the Medical Officers that three of the worst of these cases, who, on admission and for some time after, were in a very critical state, ultimately regained health and strength, and were discharged recovered with very grateful ex¬ pressions for the treatment they had received. Two of those were females, one the subject of heart disease and the other affected with pneumonia, for which she had been confined to bed for three weeks and had