View report page

86
OPEN-AIR SLEEPING SHELTER.
The Council's Open-Air Sleeping Shelter was in
use during part of the year. Unfortunately, owing
to the limited space available in the yards and gardens
attached to the houses in the Borough, very little
extension of use can be made of this valuable adjunct
to treatment.
PROVISION OF BEDSTEADS AND BEDDING,
AND CLOTHING.
The bedsteads and bedding which are available for
loan to necessitous patients to enable them to sleep
alone were frequently used during the year.
Some assistance has also been rendered to patients
in getting necessary clothing for use while in sanatoria.
SANATORIUM TREATMENT.
During the year 130 patients were recommended
for Sanatorium or Hospital treatment and 120 of them
were sent away to institutions. In addition, 68
patients received treatment for Tuberculosis in the
general hospitals of the L.C.C.
Twelve children were recommended for admission
to an open-air school, all being accepted.
A reform of great value has been the decision of
the L.C.C. to cease charging contributions in respect
of residential treatment for tuberculosis or the boarding
out of child contacts of cases of tuberculosis. There
can be no doubt that the practice of charging contributions,
no matter the amount or how carefully
assessed, has been a deterrent to some patients
obtaining or continuing treatment. It has also been
a somewhat distasteful task for the staff and committees
concerned with the assessment, distracting attention
to some extent from the essential work of advising
and assisting the patients and their families in dealing
with the disease and the problems in its train.