Heilbrigðisskýrslur - 01.12.1938, Page 176

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5U beds in eacli. But the capital itself has not as yet any hospital of
its own, with the exception of a small and old fever hospital.
Special Hospitals.
Of special hospitals the three tuberculosis sanatoria specially
deserve mention. They have a total number of 280 beds, or about one
bed for each 400 persons of the population. There are two chief sana-
toria, both situated out in the country, one in the neighbourhood
of Reykjavík with 185 beds, and the other near Akureyri in the north
of Iceland, with 72 beds. In the neighbourhood of Reykjavík we also
find a lunatic asylum with 130 beds, which is, however, insufficient,
and a leper hospital with 25 beds. The latter was originally (1898)
presented to the State by the Danish Order of Oddfellows and had
accommodation for 60 patients which number is gradually decreasing
with the disappearance of leprosy from the country. There is now
only left to mention the State isolation hospital in Reykjavík with 25
beds and the above mentioned fever hospital owned by the municipality
of Reykjavík with 35 beds. With the exception of this last named
hospital, the State itself owns and runs all these special hospitals.
Hospital Fees. Running Expenses of Hospitals.
The daily fees in the State hospitals have until now been kr. 5.00
to kr. 6.00, inclusive of everything, medical attendance, medicines,
etc., but there will naturally be changes owing to the war. The
State Hospital, however, charges extra fees (kr. 15.00 to kr. 35.00
to kr. 50.00) for the use of operation theatre and delivery room.
Other hospitals used to charge general daily fees of kr. 3.00 to lcr. 4.00
(the cottage hospitals), and kr. 5.00 to kr. 6.00 (the larger hospitals),
exclusive of medical aid, íuedicines, Roentgen photographs, etc. Those
numbers concern Icelanders and common wards, the hospitals as a
rule charg'ing higher fees for foreigners and single rooms.
The running expenses of Icelandic hospitals may to some extent
be seen from the fact that in the State Hospital they used to amount
to about kr. 11.00 for each patient per day, but in the State tuber-
culosis sanatoria and lunatic asylum thev amounted to just over
kr. 5.00. These amounts do not include interest on money spent on
buildings, furnishing, equipment, etc. It may be mentioned that the
State Hospital and one of the tuberculosis sanatoria are heated
with natural hot water, which is both cheap and very convenient.
Health Protection Institutions.
Since 1919 a health protection institution has been run in Reykja-
vík by a local nursing society. This institution has first and fore-
ínost been concerned witb Ihe prevention of tuberculosis, but also to
a certain extent with mother- and childwelfare. This institution was
recently greatly increased, especially with regard to thorough mea-
sures of i>revenlion of tuberculosis and the total running expenses are
now practically all defrayed by public funds (with equal amounts
from the Treasury, the Municipality of Reykjavík, and the Sick In-