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76. Administrative Action. The administrative action taken
was described in the Annual Report for 1915. Dispensary cases
are visited by the Dispensary staff for the purpose of ascertaining
the home conditions and of searching for contacts. Cases notified
by private practitioners are visited by the Sanitary Staff of the
Public Health Department. This is an undesirable arrangement
and one which calls for change. An endeavour is made to visit
each case every six months. Purely sanitary defects discovered
are referred to the sanitary inspectors for remedial action. The
same routine is followed out when cases return from hospitals or
sanatoria, and no effort is spared to encourage the patient to tide
over any initial difficulties which may occur, and to see that the
value of the lessons learned in institutions is not lost. The number
of visits paid by the staff of the Public Health Department
was 254, and by the Dispensary Staff, 6,449.
In addition to the above, administrative action includes the
distribution of appropriate literature to each notified case, disinfection
of infected premises after removal to institutions or
after death, and provision of facilities for the bacteriological
examination of sputum sent by private practitioners. During
the year 190 specimens were examined at the Seamen's Hospital,
Greenwich, and 316 at the Voluntary Dispensary.
77. Shelters. The Council have provided 11 shelters which
are loaned out at a charge of from 6d. to 1s. 6d. per week.
The shelters have been specially constructed in sections so
that they can be taken through houses and easily erected in
back gardens. They are open on all sides and are valuable in
continuing the open-air treatment in the home. Their use,
however, is limited in many cases only to the warmer weather.
Patients when away from the sanatorium regulations are
disposed to coddle themselves by sleeping indoors during the
winter thus undoing the good results obtained by the use of the
shelters during the summer time.