A Peep at Ranaghat Medical Mission, Bengal

Kai Tiaki : the journal of the nurses of New Zealand, Volume XV, Issue 4, 1 October 1926, Page 166

A Peep at Ranaghat Medical Mission, Bengal

First, picture the surrounding district, hundreds of little villages scattered over rice fields, each one almost hidden away m the bamboo trees. The houses are mostly of mud with thatched roofs ; many of them have but one room and a detached cook-house. The people are dark, small, simply clad m a length of muslin and weakly, anaemic and unhealthy. The country is lowlying and infested with the malaria mosquito: there is no sanitation m these villages, consequently dysentry, cholera, typhoid, hook worm, etc., are very prevalent. Then there is another disease very common m this country and found m only a few others: it is called Kala Azar (black fever). It is an irregular fever, often commencing like a typhoid and then settling down into an irregular fever and going on

for eighteen months or longer. The patients grow more and more emaciated, their hair gets dry and thin, their spleens get enlarged and very hard and painful%nd the liver gets enlarged and tender. As the disease advances the feet get swollen, m fact, m many cases the whole body gets swollen and m many cases cancrum oris arises together with other complications, dysentry and pneumonia being the most common. The people are ignorant and very superstitious. Some of them are Hindus and worship gods many and idols innumerable. They are never without charms ; charms to protect them from evil, charms to frighten away some particular evil spirit, charms to cure their disease ; then charms are hung over their crops to keep off the evil spirits and charms are

hung on the trees at the approach to a village to keep out the spirit which brings cholera. There is no provision for any medical help lor the women of these villages apart from the mission hospital: there are Indian doctors m some of the villages to whom the men may go; but not the women. Come now, and see them on any Tuesday or Friday morning as they trudge along to the hospital. They come along the roads from different directions walking always one behind the other carrying their babies, bundles, bottles, and a piece of iron m their hands (to ensure their safe return home again). At this, the most unhealthy season of the year, as many as a thousand come m a day, and quite a number gather at the Dispensary (outpatients) over-night. As they reach the gate they pay their pennies and receive their tickets of admission. Then comes a wait m the waiting-room, or if the rooms are full, then under the trees. In the waiting time, two Indian women come along and, m their own language, tell and sing to them the simple gospel story. At one preaching during the morning a European nursing sister takes her turn at the preaching. On the days when men are seen, one of the doctors always comes and takes his turn with the Indian preachers. Imagine this crowd of sick women with their children, all seated on the floor listening. They cannot read or write and have never had occasion or opportunity to think of anything besides rice, husbands, babies, and the house. They endeavour m a blind kind of a way to please the gods by recognising them and to turn aside their anger by wearing charms, it is true, but they will always admit that they have no satisfaction m their lives. As they are sick m body and have no "shanti" or peace of body, so they tell us, they have no shanti of mind. Such women hearing the gospel for the first time, take m very little; as they return time after time, however, they do begin to understand the good

news of the gospel, and to appreciate it. There are a few who come back, not needing medical treatment, just to hear the gospel. The waiting time over, the door is opened and the women go through, a score or so at a time, to see the doctors. They never will understand, that they get through no quicker for pushing and struggling. It is rather funny at times, when a sufficient number have gone through and the attendant tries to shut the door, he finds some women one side of the door and some the other who won't be parted. They just cling together, as many as ten or twelve of them, because they all come from one village, and are afraid of losing one another. So many of them never leave home except to come to hospital and they are nervous and afraid. In the consulting rooms are two Indian assistants and a European doctor and the European padre, while m another consulting room are two other doctors, one English and one Indian, attending to those patients who are able to pay for their consultations and medicine. The women flocking m, may go to whomever of the doctors they please, and of course if one of a party of ten goes to the padre, they all must go, and will on no account be persuaded to divide themselves round for consultation. This leads to a great blockage of traffic; but if we try to insist on our way of dividing them out, it leads to riiuch loud noise, which is far worse. Noise there is all the time, and plenty of it, unfortunately. One day I counted the proportion of babies or small children to mothers, and there was an average of one child to one adult. Can you imagine how trying it is m that consulting room? the intense heat, close atmosphere, shouting women, crying babies; and any number from three hundred to thirteen hundred a day to be seen, cared for, and sent away again with medicine and an impression of Christian love and gentleness. Large numbers of injections, intravenous and other kinds are given out here m the Dispensary. The only cure for Kala Azar is through intra-venous injections,

and some time ago we were giving 300 a week for this disease alone m the hospital and dispensary here. Dressings are done out here m Dispensary, also many minor operations, tappings, etc. All the workers are Christians, all except six are Indian Christians. On the compound are two hospitals, one for men and one for women, the former accommodating eighty patients, the latter forty-five. There is an English sister m each hospital with a staff of Indian Christian nurses, men m the men's hospital and women m the women's. The daily round of hospital work is carried on much the same as m our hospitals at home with a few differences. One is that we all meet for prayer before we start the day's work, and it really is a joy to be there; the singing of the hymn is so hearty and happy, and the tone of the prayers so sincere. Appearances are not studied just quite as much as at home, though comfort, cleanliness and efficiency are. We haven't all modern conveniences; no electric light, gas, X-ray, or modern sanitary conveniences; but there is a tremendous amount of good work done nevertheless. We do a lot of surgery, including many abdominal operations, and the results are highly satisfactory, m spite of our few conveniences for working, and clean wounds almost invariably heal by first intention. Always before operations the theatre staff gather round the table, before the first anaesthetic is given, for prayer with and for the patients. This makes a

great impression, and if for any reason it is overlooked, the patients are troubled. One afternoon a short time ago, an old lady was going to have a cataract done: she had had one eye done the previous year. All was prepared and the doctor was just about to commence when the old lady lifted up her hand and said, "Wait a minute ; last time you operated on my eye you prayed m the name of Jesus and it got better; aren't you going to pray again?" We stopped and prayed. There is a tremendous opportunity here for helping the Bengali women at the time of their confinements; but we are not able to do nearly as much as we would like, for with our present staff we find it quite impossible to answer calls and to go to patients' homes. In many cases we could persuade the people to let us bring the patients m, if only we could go out; but we can't. In the villages there is no one to care for the women, and it is just heartbreaking to have to say "No" when called to render help m that time of a woman's greatest need. We take m all the cases which come to us, of course; this is about eighty a year, many of which are abnormal. How we long to do more, but a day has but twentyfour hours and we have but two hands. If anyone should be thinking of offering for work such as this I can promise you great satisfaction and joy m such service, though little perhaps of "this world's goods" and this world's amusements. —V. Opie.