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The following Regulations and Orders dealing with Tuberculosis
came into force during the year:—
1. The Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1924, made by the Minister
of Health came into operation on 1st January, 1925. They amend the Regulations of 1912
and 1921 in regard to certain matters of notification. In his circular letter the Minister
points out that discrepancies have been. noted in the past. Cases have not been notified
until after death, and the Minister does not consider that these should be regarded as
coming within the terms of the Regulations, and therefore do not entitle the practitioner
to notification fees. He attaches great importance to inquiry being made where deaths
occur in cases which have not been previously notified. Where there was apparent neglect
to notify, an explanation should be required of the practitioner certifying the death.
Three cases of this nature were inquired into, and satisfactory explanations were received
from the practitioners concerned. The Tuberculosis Officer is now required to notify
every case in which he diagnoses tuberculosis unless he has definite knowledge that the
practitioner attending has notified or will notify the case. It has occasionally happened
that each left it to the other to notify, with the result that the case remained unnotified.
New cases have sometimes been notified from institutions on Forms C. and D. (admission
and discharge forms), instead of on the primary Form A. This is liable to cause
confusion in estimating the number of new cases in the year. In each case a Form A. is
sent to the notifying doctor at the institution, with a request for its completion and return.
This plan has worked satisfactorily, as mentioned heretofore in this report.
It has been found that there is sometimes a divergence between the numbers of
notifications of tuberculosis sent in the weekly returns of Infectious Diseases to the
Registrar-General and those in the total of primary notifications sent to the County
Medical Officer. It is now asked that only the number of primary notifications on
Forms A. or B. should be sent to the Registrar-General in the weekly return.