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National Insurance Act, 1946
Regulation 3(b) of the National Insurance (Unemployment and
Sickness Benefit) Regulations, 1948, made under the above Act,
enables any person excluded from work under the foregoing provisions
to claim sickness benefit on production of a certificate
issued by the Medical Officer of Health.
In the Ministry of Health Circular 115/48 it has been suggested
that the Medical Officer of Health should be prepared to furnish
such a certificate if, in his opinion, circumstances are such that this
action becomes necessary.
Any sickness benefit would of course be taken into account when
compensation is made to a person for the loss occasioned by his
exclusion from work.
No action was necessary during the year under review.
International Certificates
The International Sanitary Regulations, as amended, which
replaced the International Sanitary Conventions on 1st October,
1952, prescribe inter alia, forms of International Certificates of
vaccination against Cholera, Smallpox and Yellow Fever. In May,
1965, the World Health Assembly agreed upon a new form of
vaccination certificate for Smallpox, the use of which became
compulsory on 1st January, 1967. This new form is set out in
Schedules 4 and 5 to the Public Health (Aircraft) Regulations,
1966, and the Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1966,
respectively.
To be valid each certificate must bear an approved stamp which
certifies that the signature of the Vaccinator is that of a practising
medical practitioner.
During the year 4,020 certificates of persons proceeding abroad
were so authenticated, of these 3,464 were in respect of Smallpox,
345 Cholera, and 211 for Typhoid.
Immunisation and Vaccination
Regulation 9 of the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations,
1968, provides that a medical officer of health may vaccinate
or immunise, without charge, any contacts or possible contacts of
a case of infectious disease now to be notified (other than tuberculosis)
who are willing to receive such treatment.
Smallpox
No cases were notified during the year, but a number of contacts
were reported arriving in the Borough from abroad and these were
kept under surveillance for the requisite period.
Vaccination.—Smallpox is a very dangerous and disfiguring
disease and prior to the introduction of compulsory vaccination in