View report page

57
National Insurance Act, 1911, and the Public Health (London) Act,
1891, and have conferred with the Committee of the Battersea
Dispensary and the Local Insurance Committee on the subject.
The Council will remember that they are waiting to receive
from the London County Council a scheme for dispensary and
sanatorium treatment for the metropolis generally, and therefore,
though we are in favour of the establishment of a Municipal
Dispensary, it appears to us to be inadvisable at the present
moment to make substantive recommendations to the Council.
Moreover, we desire to confer with the Law and General Purposes
Committee on certain matters before doing so. We submit a
memorandum which gives the material points involved in the consideration
of the whole question. In the meantime the period
of approval of the existing dispensaries (six months) expires on
the 15th January, and we recommend—
That the Local Government Board be informed of the
Council's position in the matter, and that the Council suggest
an extension of approval for a period of six months."
It is, in my opinion, a matter for regret that difficulties ana
delays have arisen in connection with the establishment of a
municipally controlled Tuberculosis Dispensary in the Borough.
As will be seen from the report of the Medical Officer of Health,
the powers and duties of the Council as the Sanitary Authority in
connection with the prevention of infectious disease are clearly
defined. Since consumption (in all its forms) has been made
compulsorily notifiable, the disease has been placed in the same
category as other notifiable infectious diseases with which the
Council have to deal, and greatly increased facilities have there by
been provided, and by the National Insurance Act enabling
sanitary authorities to improve the preventive measures in connection
with consumption which they have been carrying on with
considerable success for years past. Any scheme for dealing with
consumption must necessarily include the entire population, and
this fact has been recognised by the Government, who have agreed
to contribute not alone in respect of insured persons, but the
dependents of insured persons as well, suffering from tuberculosis,
half of any deficiency resulting from the cost of treatment of such
persons.
The Dispensary as a unit in the scheme for carrying out
sanatorium benefit must form a very important centre for
the carrying on of both treatment and prevention. The Council
in deciding to adopt the principle of a municipally controlled
institution have adopted the only logical and satisfactory
course. Merely to be represented on a voluntary institution
controlled by an outside body would be insufficient and give rise
to administrative difficulties, which are naturally bound to interfere