Nonehang, Sept, 11
Health is one of the four main lines of activities at the welfare nto, "The Provinelt Pubile Health Depariment sonds two work actor and. hie asestant, besides the midwife who Is supported on. the current budget of the centre. In both building and equipment it is" quite complete for a rural health station, and in some cases. superior to an average hsien hospital, Tt has two oF more wards of four to fifteen beds for emergency cases and a polvelinie which Is dally visited by ten to 40 patients, The morning' is largely devoted to healing, the afternoon to sanitation and health education and the evening is spent by dovetailing health work into other activities.
Western medicine Is a new thing the country. The conservative farmer is suspicious of the good that may come from health programmes which produce the quickest. results, And old style Chinese doctor needs only a pen and a sheet of paper to solve the dimeultles of diagnosis and to euro all cases—medical, surgical and psychiatric, "He feels the pulse of the patient and prescribes alist of drugs and his' Job Is done. Gonevally he is a private tutor or scholar and he docs not much care whether he Is pald or not for his prescription, But the Western edveated physician somewhat handicapped, Western medicing, however, has' gradually found "favour with the villagers specially In surgical cases. A long process of education and raising of economic levels wilt be required, before much headway can be made in sanitation and health work. improve wells and disinfect also water costs money. To make Intrines mote of less fly-proof requires money.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.