View report page

29
GUARDIANS AND INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
A new agreement with the Guardians to replace one of March, 1902, with
reference to the treatment of poor persons suffering from infectious disease was
accepted by my Council on December nth, 1912. I did not advise my Council
to accept it, as its terms were most unfair and onerous to a degree. This
agreement contained a clause excluding from its purview inmates of the Workhouse
and Infirmary.
An outbreak of scarlet fever on the Guardians' premises in March and
April brought about difficulties connected with the transport of the patients to
the Enfield and Edmonton Joint Isolation Hospital, as I declined to transport
(at my district's expense) in-door paupers to the hospital. The matter of transport
from the Infirmary and Workhouse to the Isolation Hospital could easily
be dealt with by making an arrangement for the Hospital to send its own
ambulance for the patients, who could then be removed without any delay, and
the Medical Superintendent would always be able to send out a nurse or nurses
with their ambulance. On April 7th, when discussing the cause and method
of dealing with this outbreak of scarlet fever, I advised the Guardians' medical
superintendent (Dr. Mort) that the proper course was for his Guardians to ask
for terms of transport from the Enfield and Edmonton Joint Hospital Board,
who for some years past have treated the Guardians' in-door pauper cases at a
fixed rate of 4/6 per day per patient, paid by the Guardians.
Dated 30th April, Mr. Shelton (Clerk of the Edmonton Guardians)
addressed a circular letter to the Councils interested in the Union, informing
them that "A most serious difficulty has arisen owing to the fact that the
Councils of some of the districts in the Union recently refused to remove cases
of infection from the Edmonton Workhouse and Infirmary." He goes on to say :
"It is absolutely necessary that the Guardians should have an arrangement by
which the patients can be removed promptly, and therefore they desired to
alter the agreement by inserting a provision that patients in the Edmonton
Workhouse and Infirmary suffering from infectious disease shall be removed,
isolated and treated and maintained by and at the expense of the Council," to
whom the patient is chargeable. He threatened that failing that, the Guardians
would provide a hospital of their own for such cases. My Council replied that
they saw no sufficient reason to end an agreement concluded so recently as the
previous December. The provisions of that agreement, as I have said, were
not satisfactory, but my Council accepted it in order to maintain by concessions
a friendly attitude between these two public bodies.
The draft agreement reached us on the 26th May, which was preceded by
a letter from Mr. Shelton of the 22nd May, threatening to put an end to the
present agreement by three months' notice, if my Council did not give way to
the demands of the Guardians. In a report to my Sanitary Committee, dated