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The following report was submitted to me by Dr. Connan, in
October, 1922, and my comments will be found at the conclusion:—
"I beg to submit the following report of the work of the Dispensary
since March Ist, 1922.
It will perhaps make matters clearer if an indication is given of
the lines upon which the Dispensary was conducted previously to its
transference to the control of the Borough Council.
The clientele of the Dispensary includes notified cases, patients
attending voluntarily, and persons referred to the Dispensary by
local medical practitioners; the Ministry of Pensions; the London
County Council and other public bodies.
Under the Central Fund all such cases were examined, and given
medicinal treatment if necessary, with the exception of insured
persons and patients sent by Doctors for opinion only. For every
patient a case sheet was made out, which remained as a permanent
record, whether that particular case was one of Tuberculosis or
not, and even after discharge, death, or the removal of the person to
another district, no provision was made for using the space rendered
available by such discharge, removal, etc.
As a result of this sytem it was found that out of 7,600 cases of
which records were kept, only about 1,400 were definitely Tuberculous
or suspect.
The hours of attendance under the old regime were 2-5 in the
afternoons; 6-8 Monday evening, and 10-1 Friday morning. Examinations
by appointment at a definite hour were rarely made, and
thus it was impossible to say how many patients were to be seen for
treatment, and how many were to be examined at any given session.
This resulted very often in a patient waiting two hours or more to be
seen, and, of course, many patients made a practice of arriving just
before the closing hour in order to avoid a long wait.