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114
THE DISPENSARY AS A RECEIVING HOUSE.
The Dispensary is essentially a receiving house to which
all the forms and varieties of tubercular disease gravitate.
Being as it is, in intimate contact with the Public Health
Department with its Sanitary Inspectors, Lady Health Visitors,
etc., and with various philanthropic organisations, persons
suffering from all kinds of indefinite illnesses in which there is
no more than a suspicion of tubercular mischief, are sent to the
Dispensary in order to ascertain whether or not they are
tuberculous. In this way the chances of early detection are
much increased.
THE DISPENSARY AS A CLEARING HOUSE.
The Dispensary will alto act as a clearing house, through
which persons suffering from various forms of tuberculosis will
pass, whether they be permanent or only temporary residents
in the district.
These persons are examined and classified by the Tuberculosis
Officer, and appropriate treatment given at the
Dispensary, or they are referred elsewhere as the case may be.
Suitable early cases are recommended for a period at a Sanatorium
or Farm Colony and late infectious cases are sent to
an institution where the possibilities of their disseminating the
disease are reduced to a minimum. Many doubtful cases will
recover upon rectification of faulty conditions of sleep and diet,
whilst the application of open air treatment at home or in the
workshop or office will undoubtedly snatch many persons from
a premature grave.
THE DISPENSARY AS A CENTRE FOR " OBSERVATION."
Closely coupled with its functions as a clearing house, the
Dispensary also acts as a centre for observation. Private
practitioners in the neighbourhood refer their patients to the
Dispensary in some instances for observation or for further
treatment. Now that Dispensaries are becoming so well
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