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61
It is unfortunate that by a proviso in the Regulations of 1912, a medical
practitioner is not required to notify a case of tuberculosis if he has reasonable
grounds for believing that the case has already been notified. It would seem that
any disadvantage accruing from duplication would be easily outweighed by the
advantage of the additional encouragement to promote early notification which
would ensue from the withdrawal of this proviso from the Regulations.
The Regulations also require notification of the admission and discharge of
patients to poor law institutions and sanatoria. It has been found necessary
during the year to communicate with both classes of institution drawing attention
to the Regulations and urging strict compliance therewith.
Institutional Treatment.
During the year notifications were received of 96 admissions to institutions.
These admissions represent 74 patients, some of whom are transferred from one
institution to another, and others are discharged, or take their own discharge,
and subsequently are re-admitted.
The 96 admissions were to the following institutions: —
Poor Law Institutions 46
Institutions of the Metropolitan Asylums Board 27
Other Institutions 23
Twenty-two of these admissions were transfers from one institution to
another or re-admissions.
Visitation of Homes, etc.
During 1924 the patients were visited by the Sanitary Inspectors or by the
Tuberculosis Nurse; arrangements have been made whereby after March 31st,
1925, all such visits are paid by the Tuberculosis Nurse.
Contacts.
All contacts are invited to attend for examination at the Tuberculosis
Dispensary.
Forty-eight contacts, viz., 22 adults and 26 children under fifteen years of
age, responded to this invitation and were examined for the first time during the
year 1924. Of these, two adults were found to be suffering from pulmonary
tuberculosis and one child from non-pulmonary tuberculosis. Forty-five
were definitely diagnosed as not suffering from the disease. The routine
examination of contacts is desirable as a means of discovering not only cases of
tuberculosis in early stages of infection, but also advanced and infective cases
which may be disseminating infection although remaining undiscovered and
untreated.
Arrangements were continued during the year for fuller co-operation with the
school medical services so as to ensure that no contacts of school age will remain
unexamined; if such examination cannot be carried out at the Dispensary the