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118
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.
The Chart shows the male and female as well as the total
death-rate from Pulmonary Tuberculosis per 10,000 population
for the last 25 years.
As will be seen the rate in both males and females has decreased
to some extent. The rate among males was lowest in 1910 and
among females in 1902.
In the Report for 1910 the methods which had been adopted
by some authorities were given, but since then the subject of the
control of Pulmonary Tuberculosis has been widely discussed, not
only in medical journals, but also in the lay press. The education
of the public which has been going on for some years has borne
some fruit in the establishment of societies for dealing with the
question.
The medical profession in the Borough, as represented by
the South West London Medical Society and the Wandsworth
Division of the British Medical Association, formed a joint Committee
which met several times for the purpose of formulating a
scheme to lay before the Council.
Two schemes were eventually formulated, in one of which the
Local Authority were to have the control, and the other, a voluntary
scheme controlled by a central body in London, and in which
the Local Authority would as such have no control. The joint
Committee favoured the former scheme, but both were printed
and circulated to members of the Council. A deputation from
the above mentioned bodies came before the Council to support
the scheme, and eventually it was referred to the Public Health
Committee.
Previous to this the Public Health Committee had the matter
under consideration, and the following report was made to the
Council on the 26th July :—
"(a) We have had under consideration the subject of the
establishment of a dispensary for the treatment of patients suffering
from Tuberculosis. We have considered the report of the Paddington
Dispensary for the Prevention of Consumption, which was