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592
owing to the disease having, in the course of time, become arrested.
Others, less fortunate, have succumbed.
"In March a Circular was issued by the London County Council
to the Metropolitan Borough Councils, with reference to the cessation
of supervision of patients at the Tuberculosis Dispensaries,
in which it was pointed out that "as regards the organisation of the
work, the wastage of cases by death and untraced removal is less
than the concurrent increase, so that there is a danger, if cases that
can reasonably be regarded as "cured" continue to be supervised
and reported on, of the Dispensaries and the Public Health Departments
of the Council becoming overloaded, to the detriment of the
work generally, owing to the increasing number of cases under
supervision, and the increasing number of reports necessary with
respect to these cases.
"It is considered that" in the interests both of the patients and
the organisation of the work," those persons who have been under
supervision, and in whom the disease has been arrested for at least
three years, and who may reasonably be regarded as cured, should
be discharged from the Dispensary Register. During the year
sixty-one patients were discharged under the above heading.
"Close co-operation is maintained with the Public Health Departments
of the Boroughs. All matters relating to the patients are
transmitted through the Medical Officers of Health to the Central
Authorities, and the Borough Visiting Nurses attend the Dispensary
regularly every week.
"The milk allowances granted to a limited number of patients
have been much appreciated, and might well be extended with good
results.
"The housing accommodation in the neighbourhood is still most
inadequate. In 101 visits paid by the writer, in order to gain a
personal knowledge of the homes, the conditions were found to be
bad in 49, fair in 33, and satisfactory in only 19 instances.
"Institutional treatment was recommended during the year for
145 cases, of which 95 had been accepted up to the end of December.