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23
MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS AND X-RAY DIAGNOSIS.
The Ministry of Health and the County Council have signified their approval of an arrangement
by which the Tuberculosis Officer can consult Visiting Specialists at the St. Mary Abbot's
Hospital in Marloes Road; they have also approved of Dispensary patients visiting the Hospital
for the purpose of X-ray diagnosis in difficult cases.
These arrangements were in operation throughout the year 1923. The Board of Guadians,
with their Officers, provided every facility to both the Tuberculosis Officer and myself and I desire
to express our appreciation of the valuable assistance we have received.
DENTAL TREATMENT OF TUBERCULOUS PERSONS.
The Council's scheme for the dental treatment of tuberculous persons at the Dispensary
has continued to work satisfactorily and the returns for the year show an in increase on
those for 1923. Considerable difficulty, however, has been experienced in inducing consumptive
patients to avail themselves of the facilities offered. In many cases, patients who are at work have
complained that they cannot attend on Wednesday mornings, the time when the dental clinic is
held at the Dispensary. To meet this objection, an arrangement has been in operation during the
year whereby those who are at work can be seen between six and seven o'clock in the evening at
the private surgery of the Councils Dentist at No. 281, Harrow Road. This arrangement has
enabled dental treatment to be given to some patients who would otherwise have been precluded
from this benefit.
Even with this extended opportunity for treatment, the Tuberculosis Officer and the Women
Health Officers have had to go to considerable trouble in persuading many of the patients to place
themselves under the care of the Dentist.
The provision of dentures and the filling of carious teeth in certain cases of tuberculosis assists
very considerably in securing a permanent cure and it is, therefore, unfortunate that many patients
are reluctant to avail themselves of the enhanced prospects of recovery offered by the Council.

Extractions and fillings are performed for all patients free of charge, while the cost of the
provision of dentures, together with the financial position of the persons receiving them, is
reported to the Tuberculosis Care Committee who assess and collect payments on behalf of the
Council.
Of the 23 patients for whom the provision of dentures was arranged, 7 discontinued their
attendances with the result that dentures could not be completed. Of the 16 remaining cases for
which dentures were provided, 6 persons were so poor that no charge was made, and in the other
10 cases the assessments totalled £8 18s.
The money collected by the Care Committee on behalf of the Council during the year, in
respect of dentures provided since the commencement of the dental scheme in 1921, totalled
£10 8s.
No alteration has been made in the fees payable by the Council to the Dentist, which are as
follows:—
(1) Separate extractions. Minimum fee of 2s. 6d.
(2) Separate fillings. Minimum fee of 5s.
(3) Dentures. From £2 5s. for a part set to £4 for a complete set. No fee is paid for
extractions previous to the fitting of dentures.
The payments to the Dentist during the year amounted to £74 11s.
SUPPLY OF EXTRA NOURISHMENT TO TUBERCULOUS PERSONS.
Applications for the supply of extra nourishment to tuberculous persons are dealt with by the
Tuberculosis Care Committee and, in order to secure uniformity, the following procedure is adopted
in all cases.
1 —Applications are made upon a printed form, on which must be stated the financial
circumstances of the family and other relevant particulars. The information is verified
by the Women Health Officers who submit their reports to the Committee.
2.—Applications must be accompanied by a recommendation from the Tuberculosis
Officer, or the medical practitioner in attendance.
3.—In appropriate cases, recommendations are made to the Public Health Committee
that grants, usually consisting of supplies of milk and eggs, be made for periods not
exceeding 28 days.
4.—If a renewal of the grant be desired, a further medical certificate must be submitted
and any alteration in the circumstances of the case is reported by the Health Officer to the
Care Committee.