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out tuberculosis, sending patients to institutions which suited
their special cases, and, when better, finding them suitable work
Since the re-organization, the dispensary has been run strictly on
these lines, and also more in consonance with the ideas of prevention
which had already been advocated by the Ministry of Health.
This has proved a great advantage to the patients, since the
medical officers of the Dispensary have been able to devote much
more time to specialization in this disease. There were two
tuberculosis nurses at the time when we took over the work, and
a second whole-time assistant Tuberculosis Officer was not
appointed until 1927.
In May 1924, a lecture was given at Guy's Hospital on light
treatment by Dr. A. Rollier, of Leysin, Switzerland, which Dr. A.
Salter, Dr. Connan, and myself attended. So convincing were his
statements as to the value of this treatment that the three of us
went over to Leysin shortly after, the result being that, on our
report, the Council decided to send six patients there, and the
beds reserved then (July 1924) have been kept more or less completely
filled since. We also visited several institutions in
England in which light treatment was being carried out, and as a
result we decided to experiment on this early in 1925, by the
installation of five discarded street arc lamps in the present
Tuberculosis Dispensary. These were continued for about a year
and a half, and we found the benefit to the patients so great that
the Council, on my report, decided to construct a suitable building
as a Solarium. This building was opened in July, 1926, and has
proved of great benefit to the patients. It was the first Municipal
Solarium on any considerable scale in England, and we have had
visitors from all parts of the world to see the work done there.
The last piece of pioneer work undertaken by the department
is the health propaganda. Instruction in health had been carried
on by myself for two or three years in the shape of a series of
articles specially written on various health subjects for the Southwark
and Bermondsey Recorder. Nothing further, however,
was done until July 1924, when, on the suggestion of Dr. Alfred
Salter, the work was properly organized, and propaganda was
carried on on a much more extensive scale. As this work had
not been done previously by any Sanitary Authority, we had to