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Delayed Notification
The Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1912, require notification within
48 hours of the medical practitioner first becoming aware that the person is
suffering from tuberculosis. It is still found that medical practitioners do not
notify cases of this disease until tubercle bacilli have been found in the sputum
and in a number of cases notifications are not received until the death of the
patient or shortly before death takes place. In the past year two cases were
notified only at death, five within one month of death, three within three months
and one within six months of death. Both the cases notified at death died in
hospital.
It is unfortunate that by a proviso in the Regulations of 1912, a medical
practitioner is not required to notify a case of tuberculosis if he has reasonable
grounds for believing that the case has already been notified. It would seem that
any disadvantage accruing from duplication would be easily outweighed by the
advantage of the additional encouragement to promote early notification which
would ensue from the withdrawal of this proviso from the Regulations.
The Regulations also require notification of the admission and discharge of
patients to poor law institutions and sanatoria.
Institutional Treatment.
During the year notifications were received of 91 admissions to institutions.
These admissions represent 78 patients, some of whom are transferred from one
institution to another, and others are discharged, or take their own discharge,
and subsequently are re-admitted.

Thirteen of these admissions were transfers from one institution to another
or re-admissions.
Visitation of Homes, etc.
During 1926 the patients were visited by the Tuberculosis Nurse; the
arrangements made whereby after March 31st, 1925, all such visits are paid by the
Tuberculosis Nurse, continued.