Abstract:
The infant mortality rate is used as a sensitive indicator of the health of the resident
plantation population.This dissertation attemps to describe the pre-1974 period as well as
the rapid improvement thereafter.Medical facilities are provided on estates mostly through a
dispensary. Some estates have a maternity home and a few have a hospital which consists of
a maternity ward, a male and a female ward. A few registered medical practitioners and
assistant medical practitioners work on estates.But most estates employ who are medically
unqualified.Most midwives are government -trained and registered but some estates still
employ unqualified midwives.A new cadre of plantation family welfare supervisors perform
liasion activities between the medical staff and the workers.Other functions include
maintenance of enviromental sanitation motivation for family planning and health
education.
