As soon as the sun begins to wise in the mornings they start Streaming in, Chinese with every malady and disease and casualty imaginable. Nearly 400 8 day flock into the big waiting room at the Lester Hospital, are given a card, and find a seat, Each Chinese who is able to do so pays ten voppers for medicine and dressing. Those who have not got the copers get attention for nothing. Major operations cost $5 if the patient can possibly afford to pay it, If he can not, the operation done free. Consultations are all fre and the leading specialists in Shanghai, for eyes, ears, nose, throat, nerve and skin, donate their services to. the Lester Hospital and sive the poor Chinese the advantage of their skill, Last year there were 141,000 visits of patients, of whicn one third payed nothing at all and the majority of the remainder pay-but the ordinary ten coppers In the hospital there are 125 beds in seven main wards, In the main wards there are twelve beds in each, There are also six semiprivate wards containing six beds each, And there is one room with Dat two beds for the most serious eases, It is estimated that it costs about fifty cents a day to feed a Chinese patient. The diet consists almost entirely of Chinese food, principally ice; In addition there is milk and beef: tea and similar foreign foods which are used for medicinal purposes, Bandages and gauze are wed over and over 9j dig balconies in the rear of the' hospital are wire frames on which are stretched the pieces of gauze which have been boiled and sterilize €d. It is necessary to practice' the strictest economy and in spite of the cheap food and the utilization of bandages over and over again there is always an enormous expense, Besides the special clinics, the services to which are given by the Shanghai doctors, there are resident doctors and nurses whove salar. ies must be pai. The X-Ray La.
tory in in constant use and ts ite expensive, Lust year—there were 2055 radiographs, taken, which does not include' screen ex. aminations of which there. many. In addition an apparatus for various electrical diagnoses. and treatments was installed. The pharmacy gives out many kinds of inclicine and bandages to the outpatients who just visit the hospital for treatment and there is, of cause, the expense of taking care of the' 125 ed patients. The beds aré'never empty and a new patient brought in as fast as an old one is removed. The patients are diss charyed as soon as they are well endigh to go to their own homes bik ave Kept in the hospital as long as they need especial attention. Te the children's ward there ie one lit. tle boy who has been there for four years. He is getting well at last and his parents hope to take him home soon. The children are all very happy and contented in the big sunny room, 'They chatter and play with each other" along. the rows of litre ede, The greatest part of the' upkeep othe hospital {s maintained from the. income from the Lester Bee yucit and. Properties, Last. year his amount was Tls. 89,168.26, The terest. on the current -aecount about Tis, 300 and the interest inthe general account investments bout Tls. 250. "A feisly large sum s realized from the interest on the endowment fund investment for he upkeep of endowment beds. ast year it was $1,674.35, The Shangha} Municipal Couneil_gives Me. 6,000 annually and the Fyench fuiicipal Counci) Tis, 3000, There also. special donations by the shanghai Race Club, foreign firms, ecfties, and individuals, and Chi-firms, guilds, and individuals, year' the total realized. from hose sources was Tis, 21,442.77, Two years ago the Lester' Hospit-was moved from its eld bremiaes own building at. the comer Shantung Rotd. to the spacious venue Eaward VII and Rue Mont abso. The hospital' was removed that a new building could, reeted. In a year and a half the premises on. Shantung Road ready for cceupaney with a pew and modern building. The building which they are now in, while not originally intended for hospital work has two good essentials, good light and good air, The leasing of the temporary accommodation was very expensive and the carrying on of the unbroken service to the poor Chinese is an effort When is to be sincerely appreciate The extent to which such a has pital is needed will be seen when itis known that every four minutes of the day some sufferer applies for relief there. And the day is twenty four hours long. There are approximately 14 serious casualties day which does not include attempted suicides. There are more suicide patients than any other sort in the casualty list, The commonest method is the swallowing of an overdose of opium which has been followed by 831 cases out of the 1,092 which were brought to the hospital last year. Of these 559 are women. There are more than 1.5 cases of suicide every day, each one being a human tragedy.
In the out-patient department with all its sub-divisions there takes place the first and greatest point of contact with the general public. These patients comprise casualties, attempted suicides, urgent medical and surgical cases, chit cases, and those attending general and special clinics. The greatest percentage of Patients come from the Internation al Settlement and the next from French Concession. Nantao is in the lead of Chapei and a few pa fients are brought in from outside of Shanghai. The special elmies are largely visited by employees of various firms. Last year there were 2518 from the Shanghai Electric Construction Ca, Ltd. and 1,850 from the Shanghai Mutual Telephone Ca, Ltd. There were 994 from the' Shanghai Municipal Confidence in western medicine and surgery is steadily growing among the Chinese. Women are Jess difficult to persuade that they should enter the hospital or under-0 operation. In fact, it sometimes proves dificult to persuade patients that an operation is not required and would not yield useful results, One of the most serious difficulties is the late stage in sickness at which so many of the patients apply for relief. This is by 10 means' limited to patients from a Alistance, but is very common among. those resident in Shanghai, On the staff of the Leste: pital there are at present 68 Chinese nurses and several foreign nurses, 4 foreign déetors and 6 Chinese doc-a great deal of help from outside doctors who contribute their services daily.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.