Cured, relieved, died.
In January 1847 the Annual General Meeting of the Maitland Benevolent Asylum reported that of the 50 patients attended to as either ‘indoor’ or ‘outdoor’ patients in the previous quarter, only 2 had died ‘(and those hopeless when admitted)’.
The meeting also applauded the achievement of the institution given that the persons admitted were ‘diseased and destitute in the extreme’.
Maitland Mercury, 23 January 1847
This statement is a reminder that, during the nineteenth century, the Maitland Benevolent Asylum and its successor the Maitland Hospital were charitable organisations providing medical assistance to those who could not otherwise afford it.
It was important for the institutions to keep a record of the number of patients treated. This substantiated the service provided especially as, increasingly, financial and other assistance was sought from the colonial government.
The emphasis in the reporting was invariably on the majority of patients who were discharged ‘cured’ or ‘relieved’ alongside those who died and/or who remained in hospital.
Between January 1843 and January 1845, for example, a total of 115 patients were treated in what was still the Maitland Benevolent Asylum. Of the 21 admitted during October to December 1844, eight were discharged ‘cured’, three were ‘relieved’ and sent to Sydney (to the Sydney Benevolent Asylum for long-term care), two died, and eight were still in hospital.
During 1858, with the new hospital building just under ten years old, 301 inpatients (218 men, 66 women, 7 children), and 24 outpatients (17 men and 7 women) were treated. Of the inpatients, 43 died while the majority (245) were discharged.
In 1873 there were 251 inpatients (189 male, and 62 female) and 124 outpatients (97 males and 27 females). Twenty of the inpatients died, and 214 were discharged.
In 1884 there were 192 inpatients and 117 outpatients. 171 of the inpatients were discharged and 13 died.
In 1900 a total of 303 inpatients were treated. Of these 267 were discharged and 27 died.
Over the course of the nineteenth century, the patterns of ailments and injuries that brought patients to the hospital, and the nature of the treatments available, offer further commentary on the health services provided.
References
Annual Reports of The Maitland Hospital, 1858 and 1873, Newcastle Region Library.
Maitland Mercury, 25 January 1845, 23 January 1847, 22 January 1885. 17 January 1901.