View report page

18
The Infectious Diseases Notification Act, 1889, has given a
large amount of additional work, not only in visiting and disinfecting
the premises where the diseases have occurred but also in
making out the daily lists for the Asylums' Board containing copies
on their forms of all the Certificates received. These copies state
the diseases and where they occurred, the age of the patient, the
sex, and whether treated as a public or private patient. These
lists contain an account for each day, and so necessitate speedy
action by the staff. It will be seen that the number of certificates
received during the year was 1,510, but that only 178 notifications
by the friends had been sent, although they should have been
nearly as numerous as the certificates. By extras, are where
several cases occurred in one house.
Number of Certificates received during the year 1891 1,510
„ „ duplicates „ „ „ 46
,, extras ,, ,, ,, 253
„ „ Notifications „ „ 178
In order to make this part of the Report complete, I have
appended a monthly return of the number of certificates sent in
during each month. It will be seen that by far the smallest
number was received in August, when there were only 46 received,
against 212 in October, shewing a very great increase of infectious
disease in a very short time, November and December ranking
next in order of frequency, from whence there was a sudden drop
to July.