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Committees have been appointed in other Metropolitan Districts
throughout the Administrative County of London. Representatives
of different Public Bodies, together with Medical Officers of Health,
Tuberculosis Medical Officers and Health Visitors (or Nurses)
engaged in connection with tuberculosis work, as representing the
Borough and City Councils, have been appointed on these provisional
Care Committees pending the formation, after the War, of permanent
Tuberculosis Care Committees.* The decisions and recommendations
of these provisional Care Committees are subject to confirmation
by the Public Health Committee of the London County Council.
The establishment of these Interim Tuberculosis Care Committees
with experienced Lady Almoners or Social Workers acting as
Honorary Secretaries or serving on the Committees renders unnecessary
appointments of similar officials by the various
Borough and City Councils. In the case of Lambeth Borough,
the two Tuberculosis Officers, in their joint annual report for
1913, suggested the appointment for the Outer Districts of the
Borough of such a special official tuberculosis lady almoner or social
worker with a department on the lines of the Lady Almoners' special
tuberculosis department at St. Thomas's Hospital (in connection
with the Tuberculosis Branch Dispensary), which serves the Inner
Districts of the Borough. Under the circumstances, this suggestion
has, since the appointment of the Interim Lambeth Tuberculosis
Care Committee, proved to be unnecessary —at least for the present.
3. General Administrative Measures.
The Public Health Committee is the Dispensary Committee
for the Borough, rendering it unnecessary to appoint a special
Dispensary Committee, ad hoc, as should be and has been done in
districts where the Dispensaries are voluntary, and not,as in Lambeth,
municipal, and under the administrative control of the Council.
During 1916, the Council, on the recommendation of the Public
Health Committee, decided to appoint a part-time assistant tuberculosis
officer at the Central Dispensary, and experience has shown
that this decision was wise, the work at the Central Dispensary
only being at present sufficient for the services of a part-time officer,
due regard being paid to systematisation of clinical work, including
the arranging for the attendances of the patients at the Dispensary
punctually at the appointed hours. The decision of the Council was
approved by the Local Government Board. It must be remembered
that, in this respect, the Borough is fortunate in having two Dispensaries,
one for the Inner and more congested Districts, and one
for the Outer and less congested Districts, the tuberculosis work
of the Borough being divided (with the consent and approval of the
Local Government Board) into two halves, each half being served
by a separate Dispensary and a separate Clinical Medical Officer,
with attendances daily on five days a week for a few hours. Dr.
R. C. Wingfield, B.A., M.D. (Oxon.), M.R.C.P. (London), was
* Approved by the London County Council on June 15th, 1915, for the
purpose of organising measures auxiliary to treatment.