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32
The Work of the Tuberculosis Dispensary for the Year 1924.
1,547 persons were examined for the first time during the
year. Of these 1,269 were examined at the Dispensary and 278
at home. 1,608 old patients re-attended, making the total
number of persons who attended the Dispensary 2,877 —exclusive
of those seen at home. Medical practitioners sent 603 new
patients for diagnosis or consultation, as compared with 698 in
1923, 607 in 1922, and 662 in 1921. 710 patients who had
attended in previous years were sent for renewed consultation.
It will thus be seen that there is a considerable amount of co-operation between the Dispensary and the medical practitioners
of the area. It is true a smaller number of new patients
were sent by medical men for diagnosis and consultation, but the
cordiality of the co-operation was not diminished, and the lessened
numbers cannot be altogether disassociated from the lessened
notification rate. The total attendances at the Dispensary numbered 9,575. The function of the Dispensary as a centre of
diagnosis may be noted further. On January Ist, 1924, 44
patients examined for the first time in 1923 were under observation pending diagnosis. Adding those examined for the first time
during the year, the total under observation pending diagnosis
was 1,591. Of these 304 were found to have active tuberculosis,
1,200 were discharged as not tuberculous, 54 ceased attendance
before completion of diagnosis, and 33 remained under observation
on December 31st pending diagnosis. An analysis of persons
dealt with by the Dispensary for diagnosis in 1924 is given in
Table XIV.

Examination of " Home Contacts."
During the year 733 "home contacts" of tuberculous cases
were examined. 40 were found to be suffering from pulmonary
tuberculosis and 17 from non-pulmonary tuberculosis, a total of
57 cases of tuberculosis, or 7.76 per cent, of those examined.