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88 Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
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Institutional Treatment.
During the year 174 insured persons and discharged soldiers
were admitted to Sanatoria and Hospitals through the London
Insurance Committee, and 104 uninsured persons through the
London County Council. Many of them received temporary benefit
from their treatment. Sanatorium treatment fulfils a very important
function by giving the opportunity to patients to learn
the principles of the treatment of the disease, which they are able
to continue on return to their own homes. There is no doubt that
considerable good is done by this educational training.
In two or three cases there have been delays in admitting a
patient to an institution, but the majority have been removed
quickly.
Experience has shown that it would be a great advantage if
a few beds were available in connection with the dispensaries where
certain cases of difficulty could be kept under observation for a
time for purposes of diagnosis. A few beds are also needed for the
acute cases, and for chronic cases who develop acute symptoms,
requiring treatment in bed for a few weeks. Beds should be set
aside specially for these cases, as the demand for admission to
general hospitals is so great.
The problem of the advanced case is still unsolved. The
sputum of these cases is very often infectious, and some form of
isolation, either in institutions or under ideal conditions at home
is necessary to minimise the danger to others, and so help in preventing
the spread of the disease. Some of them are sent to
sanatoria, for which they are generally entirely unsuited, but in
the absence of any other provision except the Infirmaries, it is
.
difficult to know how else to deal with them. It is a common
occurrence to be pressed by an advanced case for a recommendation,
to sanatorium, and such requests are most difficult to refuse
especially when frequently repeated.