View report page

73
Vaccination Authority.—In October, 1901, the Stoke Newington Borough Council adopted a
resolution to the effect that—
" Having regard to the fact that all other measures taken to stamp out the disease of small-pox
are under the direction of the sanitary authority, it is an anomaly that vaccination and
re-vaccination should not be also under their control."
The resolution was communicated to the Local Government Board, with a request that they
should initiate legislation for the correction of the anomaly; and also to the Borough Councils,
who were requested to support the action taken.
In November, 1901, the Paddington Board of Guardians adopted a resolution as follows—
" That it is expedient that all powers and duties belonging to the Guardians in connection with
vaccination be transferred to the Public Health Department of Borough Councils, so that
all questions relating to public health can bo dealt with by one authority."
This resolution was communicated to the Local Government Board, the several Boards of
Guardians and the Borough Councils. The Kensington Guardians informed the Council that they
agreed therewith. Both resolutions were referred to the Public Health Committee, who, in a report
dated 19th November, recommended—
" That the Council do express their concurrence with the views of the Stoke Newington Borough
Council and the Paddington Guardians, and that communications be addressed to the Local
Government Board and the Metropolitan local authorities in support of their representations
on the subjest."
The report of the Committee was adopted by the Council.
The subject was raised again at the beginning of the current year by the afore-mentioned
deputation to the President of the Local Government Board, who recommended that the administration
of vaccination law should be transferred from the guardians to some other authority. The
President said, with reference to this question, that nothing could be more inconsistent with the
proper functions of a Board of Guardians than that they should be charged with the general duties
of vaccinating the people in their neighbourhood. He expressed his preference for the plan of
making the County Councils and the Borough Councils the future Vaccination Authorities.
For my own part, whilst concurring in the desirability of relieving the poor-law authority of
responsibility in connection with the administration of vaccination law, I question whether it would
be the better course to transfer the responsibility in London to twenty nine separate authorities; viz.,
the Metropolitan Borough Councils. Some Boards of Guardians, it is well-known, have all along
grievously failed in their duty in this matter, and strange as it may seem, some of the Health
Authorities of London are known to be hostile to vaccination. Elections to Boards of Guardians
have been fought on this ground, and who shall say that the same thing might not happen at
elections to Borough Councils ? The interests of London are one and indivisible, and it would be
intolerable that any district should be exposed to danger because a neighbouring authority failed to
enforce, or was half-hearted in enforcing the law. The question is too important to be made the
subject of party or municipal politics.
But if I understand aright the views of the President, as reported in the Press, the responsibility
of administering the future Vaccination Act in the Metropolis will be vested in some Central
Authority. Substantially this is the course I advocated in 1877, when, (after deprecating the
suggestion of the Local Government Board that the vestries, &c., should provide local small-pox
hospitals for non-paupers), I urged the desirability of a severance of the connexion between Poor-law
administration and the hospital treatment of infectious disease, and recommended the creation of a
" Central Hospital Authority," with power to provide accommodation, without payment, and
without disqualification, for all persons " whose isolation in hospitals is necessary for preventing the
spread of disease "; to which authority I proposed, " on grounds of public policy," to " transfer the
execution of the Vaccination Acts."* Should the exigencies of the Government, or any other cause
in the present year, lead to postponement of legislation with regard to the questions of re-vaccination
and the general supply of calf-lymph by the Vaccine establishment, it is to be hoped that a measure
may be passed to transfer the execution of the Acts to central authorities. This is, perhaps,
the least contentious of the questions that beset vaccination legislation, and should be capable of
solution, even though it be found necessary to prolong the life of the present Act, in relation to
other points, by including it in an Expiring Laws Continuation Act.
* Annual Report lor 1876-77, p. 14.