View report page

The Tuberculosis Officers continue to act as Medical Referees to the local
War Pensions Committees, both for tuberculous cases and those suspected of
having tuberculosis. This has entailed a great deal of work, frequently of a
worrying and responsible character, as often upon the Tuberculosis Officer's
report depends the fact whether a man draws a pension or otherwise. Over
1,250* reports were sent to the Ministry of Pensions and the War Pensions
Committees during the year.
On April 1st of this year the care of the institutional treatment of insured
persons was transferred from the London Insurance Committee to the London
County Council, so that the latter body is now responsible for this form of
treatment of all cases, whether children or adults, insured or uninsured.
Attention was called in last year's report to the success of the Open-air
School for tuberculous children on Hackney Downs. There are now 84 children
on the roll, with an average attendance of 70. During the year, 15 were
discharged as fit for work, 14 were regarded as fit to attend an ordinary
elementary school and were accordingly transferred, and two children removed
from the district. As a result of these discharges, 31 new cases were admitted.
With two exceptions, all the children come from the Boroughs of Hackney,
Bethnal Green, and Stoke Newington. It was formerly intended that the
school should supply a larger area, but it was found that the means of transit
was not satisfactory for small children coming from a great distance. All the
children have done remarkably well, and in spite of the fact that the coldest
winter days are spent in the open air, they soon learn to prefer it to the stuffy
atmosphere of the ordinary elementary school.
The statistical tables shown below give particulars of the work done during
the year. There has been a slight fall in the number of new cases for both
boroughs. It will be seen, however, that there has been a decrease of over
2,000 in the total number of attendances. Normally the number of attendances
would have increased but for a request by the Ministry of Health that the
cases treated at the Dispensary should be limited. As mentioned in last year's
report, it was pointed out by the Ministry that "the provision of routine
treatment as distinct from consultative work has at some dispensaries been
developed to an undesirable extent," and that " treatment at dispensaries should
as a rule be limited to patients whose continued treatment requires special
knowledge or technical skill, or to those who are unable to obtain other
adequate medical attendance. Patients who require treatment which can consistently
with the best interests of the patient be properly undertaken by a
general practitioner of ordinary professional skill and competence, and who are
* Including Bethnal Green and Hackney cases.