402

NORTHERN COUNTIES NOTES.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

The Visitor of the General Medical Council for 1903.I AM pleased to announce that Professor Sir George Hare

Philipson has been appointed by Sir William Turner, thePresident of the General Medical Council, on behalf of theGeneral Council of Medical Education and Registration ofthe United Kingdom, the visitor during the year 1903 of thefinal examinations of the University of Edinburgh.

Social Medical Meetings in Gates 7tea,-I-on- Tyne.The sixth annual dinner of the Gateshead Medical

Association was held on Jan. 14th at the Royal Hotel.The President of the association, Dr. H. J. Gilbert,occupied the chair and was supported by Mr. John Toddwho acted as vice-chairman. Nearly all the medicalpractitioners of the town were present and a most enjoy-able evening was spent. About 40 members and guestssat down to dinner, among the guests being Mr.Rutherford Morison of Newcastle and Dr. -H. B. Denshamof Stockton-on-Tees. The chief toast of the evening-"The Gateshead Medical Association "-was very ably pro-posed by Mr. Rutherford Morison who spoke of the manyimportant advantages derived from such an association andthe unfortunate lack of business principles in medical mengenerally, and he bestowed a well-deserved eulogium on Dr.Alfred Cox who was the pioneer of the association, and towhom the great success which attended it in bringingtogether the practitioners, both medically and socially, wasdue. He also said that Dr. Cox was not only the pioneer butthe moving spirit in the medical organisation in the countiesof Durham and Northumberland, which organisation hadrecently been attended with very great success and servedas an example to the rest of England.

Gateshead Dispensary.The annual full and fancy dress ball in aid of the

Gateshead Dispensary was held on Jan. 16th in the townhall. More than 200 guests were present, the majoritybeing arrayed in fancy dress. It was the most successful

gathering which has been held for some years, the companyincluding a considerable number of medical men. Mr. AndrewDougall and Mr. A. White acted as honorary secretaries.Feb. 2nd.

WALES AND WESTERN COUNTIES NOTES.(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Carmarthen Asylum.WHEN the Commissioners in Lunacy visited the Carmarthen

Asylum in the autumn of last year they reported that theinstitution was overcrowded and that there were 26 patientsin excess of the number for which there is accommodation.In his annual report the medical superintendent (Dr. E.Goodall) states that at the end- of 1902 there were 650patients in residence, the asylum being full on both sides,but that if the patients from other counties than those forwhich the institution is provided-viz , Cardigan, Car-marthen, and Pembroke-were excluded there would be 33vacancies. If patients are taken exclusively from thethree counties the present accommodation will suffice foranother five or ten years. There are 42 private patientsin the asylum and as a result of a recommendationcontained in Dr. Goodall’s previous annual report a

sub-committee has had under consideration the further

provision of accommodation for this class of patient. Itwas recommended by the sub-committee that from 15 to 30acres of land should be acquired and that an additionalblock of buildings should be erected, but the committeeof visitors refused to carry out the recommendation. Themedical superintendent deals in his report with the questionof the boarding-out of harmless patients and appears to beof opinion that the weekly cost would not be less than 10s.per patient, so that in the case of the Carmarthen Asylum,where the average weekly cost is less than 8s. 9d., no actualeconomy would result from the adoption of the system.Dr. Goodall considers some of its advantages to be that con-valescents are removed from the asylum buildings with theirassociations and disturbing sights and sounds and are placed

in a half-way house on the road home, while enfeebled.chronic cases are provided for under, more home-like-conditions. In 1901 tuberculous diseases accounted for40 per cent. of the total number of deaths in the asylum,but in 1902 this percentage was reduced to 29.

Newport Medical Society.At the meeting of the Newport Medical Society held on

Jan. 29th it was recommended that several hand ambulancesshould be provided at suitable centres in the town for theremoval of accident cases to the hospital. Dr. WilliamSheen of Cardiff gave a description of the diseases of theumbilicus with a summary of the abnormal conditions metwith there. He referred to the meagre manner in which thesubject was dealt with even in the latest and standard text-books, and said that he had been at some pains to collect dataand cases of the various conditions found. He classified themorbid conditions under the following headings:—Hæmor.rhage, septic and infective processes, yphilis, fistulas (faecal,urinary, bilious, and purulent), conditions dependent uponthe persistence of the omphalo-mesenteric duct and vessels,.conditions dependent upon the persistence of the urachus,hernia, and tumours (innocent and malignant). In connexionwith infective processes Dr- Sheen referred to the case ofthe island of St. Kilda in which about 80 per cent. of theinfants died from the "nine-day fits," a condition which wasfound to be due to infection of the umbilicus with thetetanus bacillus.

Newport and Monmouthshire Hospital.The new buildings connected with the Newport (Men.).

Hospital were first occupied last year, so that the annualreport of the directors of the institution is of more interestthan usual. The number of in-patients treated during 190&was 898, an increase of 172 over that of the previous year.The expenditure amounted to oB4596 and the receipts to.oB5863. Included in the latter sum are Z1400 collectedweekly by the working men of the town. There is still oneof the hospital wards unoccupied.

Royal United Hospital, Bath.The annual meeting of the subscribers of this institution

was held on Jan. 28th under the presidency of the Mayor.The medical report stated that during 1902 the in-patientsnumbered 1389 against 1321 in 1901. 7891 out-patients were

, attended, a decrease of 103 as compared with the previousyear. 349 patients were visited at their homes as comparedwith 245 in 1901. The financial statement showed that thetotal receipts amounted to ;E5774, and that the total adversebalance now amounted to £4297. The meeting unanimouslydecided that in future, as far as advisable, a charge shall bemade to those in-patients who can afford to pay something.The fee shall not exceed two guineas weekly and all suchcases shall be treated in the general wards on the samestatus as ordinary patients. A resolution, which was theunanimous recommendation of the medical staff-namely,

’ that the resident medical officers shall discontinue to visite patients at their own homes-was agreed to.’

Bath Water-supply.,

Allusion has already been made in THE LANCET of) Nov. lst, 1902, p. 1225, to the proposals of the Bath corpora-

tion for increasing the water-supply of the city. At the endr of October last the city council decided by 13 votes to seven- to promote a Bill in the ensuing session of Parliament to

enable works to be carried out at an estimated cost ofs £44,000 but a persistent minority of the inhabitants hasr endeavoured, fortunately without success, to defeat the

desires of the majority. Although at the statutory meetingof the ratepayers which was held on Dec. 20th a resolutionconsenting to the promotion of the Bill was carried by 126:

r votes to 52 a poll was demanded the result of which showst that 6344 ratepayers are in favour of the Bill and that 15910 are against it. The action of the city corporation is thus.

,1 sufficiently justified.e Feb. 3rd.

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SCOTLAND.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENTS.)

Queen Victoria’s Jubilee Tnstitute for Nurses.THE report of the council of the Scottish Branch of Queen

Victoria’s Jubilee Institute for Nurses for the year 1902shows that the work of that admirable and most valuable