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TUBERCULOSIS DISPENSARY
This institution was transferred on July 5th, 1948, to the
London County Council and Regional Hospital Board, so that the
following statistics relate mainly to the work performed during
the period from January 1st to July 4th, 1948.
The death rate from Tuberculosis during the year 1948 was
0.59 (pulmonary 0.55, non- pulmonary 0,04). During the year 203
pulmonary and 23 non-pulmonary notifications were received.
During the period from 1st January to 4th July, 1948,
1,875 attendances were made, inducing 365 cases who attended for
the first time; 58 were referred for institutional treatment.
1,892 patients were interviewed by the Almoner, and in 540 cases
extra nourishment was provided.
The Chest Physician (Dr. H.C. Price) who was Tuberculosis
Officer and Deputy Medical Officer of Health before his transfer to
the Regional Hospital Board on the 5th July, 1948, has kindly given
me permission to quote from his Annual Report to the Fulham &
Kensington Hospital Management Committee for 1948/49 as follows:-
The Chest Clinic under the new Health Services:
"The year has been noteworthy for the occasion on 5th July
of the inauguration of the National Health Service. The
immediate effects of the nationalisation of the Health Service
and the consequent transfer of the service from the local
Health Authority to the Regional Hospital Board was very slight,
no major changes of policy have been made during the year under
review. However, certain tendencies and trends inherent in
the Act itself made their appearance during the year and are
worthy of note.
For the first time the Tuberculosis Service, as many of us
have known it in the past, came under dual control; this
dichotomy is likely to haunt us for many years. The diagnosis