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far-reaching importance to the community at large, and the proposal one which, if
adopted by the Managers, would entail so considerable an extension of their duties and
responsibilites, and so large an increase in their expenditure, as to call for some
authoritative expression of opinion by the chief health authority of the country, viz.,
the Local Government Board, before the Managers are asked to take any definite action
in the matter, or to make any further inquiries in regard thereto; and that the Local
Government Board, the several Boards of Guardians, the Borough Councils, and the
Medical Officers of Health be so informed."
The Report was adopted.
The Managers are still awaiting the desired "authoritative expression of opinion" by
the Local Government Board, who, presumably, are likewise awaiting the observations of the
Managers on the suggestion in the Poplar Guardians' letter, as to the Managers being
authorised to establish sanatoria.
One further incident deserves mention. In July, 1904, the London County Council convened
a Conference of delegates of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, and of the Metropolitan
Borough Councils, "On the Administration of the Public Health (London) Act,
1891." Among the subjects considered was that of hospital accommodation for persons suffering
from consumption, in regard to which a resolution was unanimously adopted, as follows—
"That it is desirable to make provision of sanatoria for the isolation and treatment
of persons suffering from consumption, for the Metropolis, as a whole, and under one
authority; and that, in the opinion of this Conference, the Metropolitan Asylums
Board should be such authority."
By desire of the Conference the resolution was sent to the Local Government Board,
with a request that the matter might receive their immediate attention.
With reference to the suggestion that Gore Farm Hospitals might be applied to sanatorium
uses, it may be mentioned that, before endorsing the suggestion, the Council of the
National Association for the Prevention of Consumption had the site and buildings inspected
by an expert representative, who reported favourably on their suitability for the purpose;
and there can, I think, be no reasonable doubt that, with some additions and adaptations of
no very costly character (already upwards of £300,000 has been expended on site and buildings),
the hospitals would suffice for the object in view.
The site of 160 acres—larger, therefore, than that of the King's sanatorium at Midhurst
—open and beautiful in itself, is not less charming in its surroundings. The two hospitals,
"upper" and "lower," are entirely distinct, and practically invisible the one from the other,
a fact of some importance in view of classification of patients. The upper hospital, now
perfectly equipped* in all respects, and ready for immediate use, was constructed (mainly on
two floors, and of brickwork) under the supervision of the late Sir Douglas Galton and the
late Chairman of the Asylums Board (Sir Robert Hensley). It is the more important of the
two, and the most suitable for patients of the classes for whose service the King's sanatorium
is designed. The lower hospital, comprising single-floor wards, would serve well for the
chargeable poor, to whom it would afford a welcome change from the parochial infirmaries in
London, or the more dreary surroundings of the workhouses. The wards of both hospitals
are well lighted and well ventilated. The upper hospital provided accommodation for over
1,000 small-pox patients, allowing to each little (if any) less cubic space than will be given
to the patients in the King's sanatorium. The same may be said of the lower hospital which,
designed for the reception of 850 small-pox patients, has never received one, and will never
be required for small-pox isolation. The floor-space in both hospitals is ample. The general
lie of the wards of the upper hospital is north and south; that of the lower hospital northeast
and south-west. The upper hospital stands on a plateau between 200 and 300 feet
above Ordnance datum, the elevation of the site of the lower hospital ranging from 100 to
200 feet. In connection with both hospitals there is abundant space for open-air shelters,
gardens, graded walks, etc. The grounds, well wooded with chestnuts, oaks, silver birches,
are carpeted in summer with wild flowers and beautified by shrubs. The locality is bracing,
the air pure, the site dry, the chalk coming to within a little distance of the surface, over
most of the estate. The water supply is good and assured, the drainage satisfactory. The
hospitals are well sheltered from north and east winds: and it may be taken as reliable
evidence of the healthiness of the site and buildings, that in the year 1900, of 3,220 fever
convalescents treated in the upper hospital, not one died. Gore Farm, it may be added, is
only two miles distant from Dartford; and, therefore, not too far from the Metropolis—a
motor ambulance could easly perform the double journey in one day—but it is far enough
away to be out of the London soot and fog area, a matter of no little consideration in dealing
with a disease whose most fatal incidence is upon the respiratory organs.
*The unused furniture of the lower hospital was transferred to the " Orchard " small-pox hospital, Joyce Green, in 1902.