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Two of the Lewisham children were excreting dysentery bacilli and the other two
were contacts. No local arrangements could be made in Southampton for the
reception of the children nor could any arrangments in Lewisham be made.
Six children were also being maintained in the nursing home by the London
Borough of Southwark, and the problem was eventually resolved when the Medical
Officer of Health and the Children's Officer for Southwark arranged to open up
an unused sick bay of a Southwark children's home to accommodate all ten children
temporarily. Arrangements were made for the staffing of this unit by agency nurses,
but unfortunately some difficulty was experienced over the supply of such nurses
over the Christmas holiday. Part of the deficit at this time was covered by the Health
Department's nursing staff who volunteered to look after the children.
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