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18
The T.B. Allowance Scheme: Memo. 266/T.
The operating of the scheme continues to work smcothly and
easily as co-operation with the social welfare officers of the County
Council and those of the local exchange of the Ministry of Labour
and National Service is excellent. The scheme in itself as a scheme
is essentially bad as it is based upon the fallacious principle that
it is possible to divide all cases of pulmonary tuberculosis into two
groups, those who shall benefit and those who shall not, because
the first group are likely to return to work while the second group
are not. There is the early case, obviously, in the first group who
goes off to sanatorium relieved of financial worry and, unhappily,
dies from a hemoptysis or unaccountably does not benefit and
goes downhill. He is to be compared with the chronic case who
has had, perhaps, one or two periods in sanatorium before and is
put into the second group. He does not benefit from the scheme
but comes out improved and goes to work again for months and
even years before breaking down. . It is not difficult to understand
the unfairness of a scheme in which such happenings are not only
possible but actually, in varying degree, quite frequent. There
is nothing good to be said for the arbitrary division, and bearing
in mind the infective character of the disease, every case who gives
up work on the advice of the tuberculosis officer should be eligible
for the benefits of the scheme on the grounds that he has voluntarily
given up his work in order not to imperil the health of his workmates.
The alternative course most commonly followed is to keep
at work until forced to give up rather than to apply for public
assistance before it has become an absolute necessity.