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official staff, devolves almost entirely on the honorary secretary and
one or two active members, who can only visit a very few oft he
patients and in fact confine themselves to the children.
The difficulty of finding suitable employment for male patients is
practically insurmountable in this district —such employment will have
to be created, it at present does not exist here. At the same time
the amount of sickness benefit requires revision, and it seems a
thousand pities that the great friendly societies cannot devise a scheme
whereby a, patient capable of doing “light or part-time ” work could
not have his sickness benefit graded according to his capacity for work.
During the year 148 patients were admitted to sanatoria and 28 to
poor law institutions. The latter were all advanced cases for whom
no other accommodation could be obtained.
The majority of the patients attending the dispensary showed distinct
improvement, but as the home circumstances remain unchanged,
it is feared the improvement is only temporary in too many instances.
Of the 158 deaths registered in the Borough as due to tuberculosis,
29 were patients belonging to the dispensary.
Full details as to the work of the dispensary will be found in the
tables appended.