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in many areas, done much preliminary work in the framing
of the Local Tuberculosis Scheme, and as such a scheme
must deal with the preventive side of the question, of which
the Medical Officer of Health must inevitably retain control,
and as the Local Authority must have some one person to
whom it can look as the responsible head of the service, the
Medical Officer of Health would naturally be recognised as
the administrative head. Whether he should be called the
Chief Tuberculosis Officer or have some other title such as
was suggested by the Committee to the Local Government
Board is a matter which deserves careful consideration.
About the same time the above letter was published, the
Clerk of the County Council announced that the machinery for
providing sanatorium benefit (which includes institutional,
home, and dispensary treatment) for insured persons in London
was now in working order, and that already a number of
applicants had been sent to sanatoriums or given dispensary
and domiciliary treatment. In all, about sixty applications
had been received, and of these about thirty-one had been
dealt with in some way. It was added that, extensive as are the
existing voluntary agencies for dealing with tuberculosis, several
of the cases holding out the most hopeful promise of a complete
recovery would probably not have been dealt with in ordinary
circumstances until the disease had reached a stage which
would have precluded any chance of a permanent restoration
to health.
With a view to the better organisation of the work, and
reducing the cost of administration as far as possible, the
London Committee has appointed a temporary sanatorium subcommittee
for the cities of London and Westminster, and for
each metropolitan borough. After applications had been duly
inquired into, and the necessary examination and reports made,
the committee, acting on the advice of its expert adviser,
decided as to the treatment to be accorded to each case. If