Royal Albert Asylum for the care, education, and training of idiotic, imbecile, and weak-minded children and young persons, belonging to Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland : thirty-third annual report.

  • Royal Albert Asylum (Lancaster, England)
Date:
1897
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Royal Albert Asylum for the care, education, and training of idiotic, imbecile, and weak-minded children and young persons, belonging to Lancashire, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Westmorland, Cumberland, Durham and Northumberland : thirty-third annual report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    S6 can realise the need not only for special personal care, but also for special accommodation and equipment for their safe treatment. Summary of Epileptic Fits, Year ending 30TH June, 1897. Class. . Aug. Sept. 4-* O O Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. 1 Mar. April cd >r—< June Total Senior Boys 59 55 46 71 58 5i 40 57 64 50 61 53 665 Girls. 53 66 73 57 68 64 52 69 117 79 80 69 847 Junior Boys 204 r47 75 74 57 178 57 22 470 259 130 132 1805 Total ... 316 268 194 202 183 293 149 148 651 388 271 254 3317 infectious The Institution has been free from serious epidemic Disease. disease during the year. An extensive epidemic of measles prevailed in the town of Lancaster during the winter months, and caused us considerable anxiety lest infection should be introduced into the Asylum. However, by extra care on the part of the members of the Staff, during their visits to the town, and by keeping our patients from church and chapel for some weeks, we fortunately escaped an outbreak among our susceptible population. Four cases of Rotheln occurred during the month of October, and three cases of Chicken Pox during June, but both diseases were of a mild type, and were prevented from spreading, by immediate isolation of the cases in the infectious department of the Rodgett Infirmary. Entertainments. The three great essentials of companionship, instruction, and amusement, are needed for the development of the latent faculties of the imbecile. Each of these can, I think, be best obtained in specially equipped and fairly large institutions; it is difficult to provide them in small homes. Our weekly indoor entertainments, during the winter months, have been of a varied character, including Vocal and Instrumental Concerts, Nigger Minstrels, Punch and Judy Show, Conjuring Entertainment, Magic Lantern Exhibitions, and Monthly Dances. For these Entertain¬ ments an appreciative audience of over 400 patients with their Nurses and Attendants assembles on Monday evenings in the noble Winmarleigh Hall. The extensive programme of Christmas Festivities was carried out with great energy and enjoyment by the patients, and all concerned. Cellier’s Comic Opera of “ Dorothy ” was given, and there were three performances,