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iii.
culosis (most of the latter having pulmonary symptoms). In the two years 1909 and 1910
1,513 persons residing in the Borough presented themselves for treatment, of whom 503 were
found to present no signs of tuberculosis. Stating that same fact in another way, the
proportion of tuberculosis patients was 71 per cent. in 1909 and 67 per cent. last year, the
proportions of patients pronounced to be consumptive in each being 33.4 and 30.5 per cent.
respectively. Among the 509 patients who have been treated for consumption during the two
years, 57 deaths are known to have occurred, which would represent a case fatality of
11.2 per cent. The work of the Dispensary has been supplemented by the establishment of
a special school for tuberculous children, which was opened at the beginning of the current
year.
The home visiting of consumptives under the care of the Dispensary has been left to the
staff of that Institution, the Women Inspectors visiting all other known cases. Such arrangement
has relieved the Department of something like 75 per cent. of the visiting required by
the notification of new cases during the last two years, but the new Order of the Local
Government Board (that of March 22nd last) relating to the notification of institutional
cases of the disease will add largelv to the work of the Women Inspectors.
For some years past much attention has been given by your Department to the ailments
—other than the dangerous infectious diseases—common to school children. Last year the
work constituted an unusually large proportion of the labours of the Women Inspectors, and
from observations made in supervising such work I am led to submit the following remarks
on the existing arrangements for dealing with the medical aspect of school life.
If, as the proverb has it, "the child is father to the man," the importance of protecting
health in childhood cannot be over estimated. To the schoolmaster falls the duty of educating
the child's mind, to the sanitary authority should fall the task of protecting the child's health.
As a unit of the population that task has been imposed on your Council; but as concerns the
child individually, the Council has practically no jurisdiction, except the child be seized with "a
dangerous infectious disease," such as scarlet fever. In the Metropolis, questions of the child's
personal health—that is, of his future capacity for good work and capability to make use of the
education he receives, are at present, outside the jurisdiction of the "Heath Authority." Every
effort is made by your Department to bridge the gap caused by the exclusion of
the Health Authority from the public elementary schools, but if the best results are to be
obtained, I am very strongly of opinion that all questions and matters relating to the health of
school children should be entrusted to the local Health Authority. The argument commonly
used in support of the present arrangement, is that the child's education should not be interfered
with. But, how can a child assimilate instruction unless his health be good ? and what advantage
will his education be to him, if he attain manhood with a constitution enfeebled by neglected
infantile disease ? The child should be under the care of the " Health Authority " during his
school life, as he is at other ages, and questions affecting his health should be given the first
place, and not be secondary to his educational progress as they appear to be now.
The Staff of your Department remained unchanged during the year. Very few students
applied to be taken on, a fact which was the more unfortunate as the work of the Women
Inspectors was exceptionally heavy. All members of the Staff performed their duties in a
most satisfactory manner.
In concluding this introduction to my report, I desire to tender my thanks to the
Chairman and Members of the Public Health Committee for their unvarying