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42
TREATMENT
Modern anti-tuberculosis chemo-therapy enabled the majority of patients to
receive treatment at home under the care of the attendant medical practitioner
and with Chest Clinic supervision. The services of the District Nurse were used
to give patient injections where necessary. Admission to hospital was arranged
only in those cases where the disease was of such severity as to require inpatient
hospital facilities and nursing care or where the social and personal
circumstances of the patient were inadequate or unsuitable for domiciliary treatment.
An average of five tuberculosis beds were kept occupied in Dulwich
Hospital during the year.
B.C.G. VACCINATION
The Chest Clinic service offers B.C.G. vaccination against tuberculosis to
contacts at special risk who have missed or are not yet old enough to qualify for
vaccination under the School Medical Service B.C.G. scheme. During the year
210 such B.C.G. vaccinations were performed at the Chest Clinic.
HOME VISITING
The Council provides one full time Tuberculosis Health Visitor to maintain
this essential aspect of the Chest Clinic service covering matters of hygiene
and prevention of infection in the ho me and among contacts.
The Visitor also provides a most valuable liaison between the patient
receiving treatment at home, his attendant medical practitioner and the Chest
Physician - a service of widening scope as the use of domiciliary treatment
increases. Office accommodation is provided for the Health Visitor at the Chest
Clinic with access to patients' medical records and facilities for discussion of
case problems with the Chest Physician.
I am indebted to Dr. H.J. Anderson for the following report on the work of the
Chest Clinic for 1968
THE NORTH LAMBETH CHEST CLINIC
The North Lambeth Chest Clinic continues to serve the same proportion of
Lambeth as before. In addition, patients are of course referred to it from all over
the country. All types of chest illness's are seen and dealt with, and research
continues into the cause of such diseases.
During 1968 several Sanatoria for Chest Diseases' were closed by the
Ministry of Health, and this has naturally made increasing demands on the chest
services of the Hospital. This includes both the beds in St Thomas' Hospital
proper, and the beds in the South Western Hospital. You will know that a
Respiratory Unit was transferred to the South Western Hospital, from the Western