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" Justice may enlarge the time as often as appears to him necessary
" for preventing the spread of the disease."
(2) " The direction may be carried into execution by any Officer of any
" Sanitary Authority, or of the Metropolitan Asylums Managers,
"or by any Inspector of Police, or any Officer of the hospital."
By direction of the Vestry I have forwarded a copy of this communication
to each of the hospitals situated within this Borough, and also to those
adjacent thereto.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
C. Barrett.
The Clerk, Vestry Clerk.
Metropolitan Asylums Board.
Metropolitan Asylums Board,
Embankment, E.C.
19th October, 1900.
Silt,—
Hospitals Department.
Infectious Cases in Chamberlain Street, St. Pancras.
I beg to acquaint you that your letter of the 25th ult. was submitted to the
Hospitals Committee of this Board, at their last meeting, and by them it was
referred to their Special and Medical Sub-Committee to deal with. This
Special Sub-Committee have had your communication before them, and your
further letter of the 1st October, giving the names and addresses of the
persons referred to, together with (1) a report thereon by the Medical Superintendent
of the Western Hospital, and (2) all the correspondence which has
passed between the Acting Medical Superintendent and Dr. Sykes, your
Medical Officer of Health, and I have been instructed by the Sub-Committee
to write to you upon the subject.
While the Sub-Committee are in full sympathy with your Vestry in their
efforts to check the spread of infectious disease, and to prevent the discharge
from hospital of patients who have not completely recovered, they are unable
to concur fully in your Vestry's opinion as to the duty of the Resident Medical
Officer, which appears to go beyond the provisions of the Public Health
(London) Act, 1891, to which you refer.
They have, however, given directions to their several Medical Superintendents
that upon any demand for the removal of a patient still in an
infectious state, they are to communicate with the Medical Officer of Health
of the District to which it is proposed to take such patient, so that this Officer
may have an opportunity of judging whether the patient would be "provided