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medically authenticated, the Medical Officer of Health who receives it can
only regard it as ordinary information calling attention to the case,
information which would require to be corroborated by a certificate from
the medical practitioner in charge of or in attendance on the patient.
Personally I have not experienced any difficulty in this matter, the
following being the procedure which I adopt in this District. As soon as a
Medical Certificate of dangerous infectious disease is received it is copied on
to an inquiry 4form and delivered to the Sanitary Inspector of the SubDivision,
who makes inquiry at the house, and fills up the form. The cases
certified from hospitals outside this district are treated in the same manner,
and if upon inquiry it is ascertained that the infectious disease has certainly
or probably been contracted after the inmate has left the house from which
he was removed to the hospital, the Medical Officer of Health of the
District is infofrmed that the disease was probably contracted in the hospital
and not in this District. Whether the Medical Officers of Health of other
districts treat me in a similar manner I have no means of knowing, except
in one or two special instances.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
(Signed) John F. J. Sykes.
Metropolitan Asylums Board,
Norfolk House,
Norfolk Street, Strand,
10th June, 1898.
Dr. John F. J. Sykes,
Medical Officer of Health,
St. Pancras.
Sir,
In reply to your letter of the 4th inst., I have to state that, in my
opinion, a hospital is undoubtedly included in the term "house" as used in
Section .55 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
The "notice" required by Section 5.5 (1) (a) is not, in my opinion,
required to be medically authenticated; it is merely information required,
and it has the effect of bringing to the notice of the Medical Officer of
Health any case which is, or is believed to be, an infectious disease ; but
when such a notice comes from a hospital it seems to me you might generally
assume it represents a medical and not merely a lay opinion.
With regard to the last paragraph of your letter, I hope you will
understand that the question of the notification of hospital cases was not
raised by me, but by certain Medical Officers of Health who have
experienced the difficulties which I am glad to hear you have been spared.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
T. Duncombe Mann,
Clerk to the Board.