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50
Willesden Local Board.
assistance and received some of our cases. Of the
119 admitted 7 were small pox cases, and these all
recovered. One child who was notified as having
scarlet fever appeared to the Sanitary Inspector,
when he arrived with the ambulance to remove him,
so very ill that he objected to taking him till the
doctor in attendance had again seen him and advised
the removal, which was done. The child died
within three hours of admission. On arriving at
the hospital I found the child in a dying state from
diarrhoea. Four of the deaths were due to
diphtheritic complications. These cases were found
on admission to be so suffering and caused great
anxiety lest the second disease should spread, but I
am glad to say it did not do so in any instance ; the
patients were cut off by screens from the other
patients, and the air of the ward purified and
rendered as much as possible antiseptic by carbolic
acid spray. No death occurred, with the exception
of the child above mentioned, from early in July
till the end of the year.
The average cost of each patient per day, including
maintenance, staff and medical attendance,
was 2s. 2d., but including the outlay on repairs,
furniture, and interest at 3½ per cent. on building
expenses for the year, it comes to 2s. 8½d.; if
interest on £l,036 (last year's outlay on buildings,
etc.) is also included, together with an allowance of
5 per cent. for wear and tear, the cost of each
patient per day would be three shillings.
I estimate the total cost of the five small pox
patients in tents in the spring at £102 which includes
maintenance, nursing, and furnishing; the
latter item includes special arrangements and
apparatus for the laundry so as to keep the clothing
of these cases separate from the scarlet fever. It