HEALTH AND MEDICINE — GENERAL 48 1 



Mufulira, and Nkana Copper Mining Companies maintain fully 

 staffed hospitals for European and native employees. Missions 

 support 27 hospitals and dispensaries in the territory, 3 of which 

 in 1936 were controlled by qualified medical practitioners and the 

 rest by trained nurses or other partially trained staff. Government 

 subsidies to missions total about £3,000 annually. 



The hospitals provide 132 beds for Europeans (figures for natives 

 are not available) and in 1936 there were 1,691 European and 10,700 

 African in-patients, and 52,151 African out-patients. The rural dis- 

 pensaries admitted 1,534 Africans and treated 24,160 out-patients. 

 Government expenditure was £852,417 (total) and £65,091 (medi- 

 cal). The stafl" includes 20 European medical officers, 39 nurses and 

 3 sanitary inspectors, also European, and 93 African orderlies and 

 7 microscopists. 



In Nyasaland, with its relatively small area and dense population, 

 especially in the southern part, which in 1936 was given as 1,838 

 Europeans, 1,558 Asiatics, and 1,619,530 Africans, medical ser- 

 vices can be more easily organized. The staff, under the direction 

 of Dr. A. D.J. B. Williams is relatively large, and nine Asiatic sub- 

 assistant surgeons supplement the work of the medical oflficers, of 

 whom there were 16 in 1936. There were 10 sisters, i matron, and 

 2 European sanitary inspectors. The African staff of nearly 300 

 in 1936 included 16 hospital assistants, 177 dispensers, 19 sanitary 

 inspectors, 40 vaccinators, etc. There are eighteen medical posts 

 which are designed to have a European medical officer in charge, 

 but since the strength in the territory is usually only 14, several 

 have to be filled by sub-assistant surgeons or even by African 

 hospital assistants. There are 2 European hospitals, at Zomba and 

 Blantyre, and 15 native hospitals with 93 rural dispensaries, the 

 distribution of which is shown in a map following the annual 

 report for 1936 (Nyasaland 1936, D.R.). 



The number of beds available in 1936 was 20 for Europeans, 6 for 

 Asiatics, for whom there is a ward in the Zomba native hospital, and 

 706 for Africans. Government in-patients were 165 European and 

 9,757 African and others, out-patients 1,685 European and 435,489 

 African and others; 301,738 cases were treated at rural dispensaries. 

 Government medical expenditure was £48,181 and the total expendi- 

 ture of the protectorate £617,573. 



