Growth of the hospital system in Hyderabad - historical and demographic aspects: 1880's-1950's.

Health service institutions of the past and thair transformation over the years, serve to explain the state of the present health-care system, particularly when the original institutions survive in some form or other to fulfill the same primary functions. With their persistence. they may affect the 'health-attitudes' of generations and orientations of the population towards a specific system of health care. This paper provides a descriptive outline of the rise and growth of health services in the capital city of the Niz arns State from the late 19th Century to middle of the 20th Century. The discussion is conducted in terms of institutions (hospitals/dispensaries) existing in each decade, their bed capacity and staff, as well as their utilisation in context of the prevalent demographic situation, health conditions and needs of the popu'ation. Conspicuous among the limitations, is the exclusion of political aspects and economic constraints of welfare. Delimitation of the period (1880's-1950's) has been convenienced by the avai labilitv of demographic data ,from the 1881 Census onwards) and coincidental with the period of svstematisation of health services in the State. Some problems relating to historiography and variance in reporting of figures from discrete sources are alr o briefly discussed. During the Outb Shahi period in Hvderabad, the Unani and Ayurvedic Medical systems were popular and also promoted by the rulers, About the late 16th Century, the'DarusShifa ' (literally 'House of Cures') was built, only the structure of which remains to date, Sherwani (1972), { describes the Darus-Shifa as a "very important building of public utility .. unique in the whole range of secular architecture in the Deccan". Its construction is estimated to have started circa 1595, From a chronicle of the reign of Muhammed Outb Shah, it is known that "nearly 400 patients" * Department of Sociology, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500007.