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consent, and on the 30th May, 1911, and the 9th and 20th August, 1912, made
further Orders, under Section 80 of the Public Health (London) Act, 189],
enabling the Metropolitan Asylums Board to receive persons into their
hospitals, not being paupers, suffering from measles, whooping-cough and
puerperal fever respectively.
It only requires the extension of this policy to tuberculosis to overcome the
grave difficulty standing in the way of treatment of advanced cases of the
disease. If the Metropolitan Asylums Board would resolve to receive cases of
tuberculosis, and if the Local Government Board would consent to such
reception, limited as they might think fit to certain type or classes of cases as,
for instance, advanced pulmonary tuberculosis, and would make an Order
under Section 80 of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, admitting nonpauper
cases, it would then follow that the Borough Councils could, through
their Medical Officers of Health, obtain the removal to the hospitals of the
Asylums Board of both insured and uninsured persons in the advanced stages
of the disease who were without proper lodging or accommodation adequate
for their treatment and the protection of their families and the community.
Thus, the most infectious form of tuberculosis would have the same advantage
as other forms of infectious diseases in having proper provision made for its
isolation and treatment, and uninsured as well as insured persons could be
protected from infecting other persons, both insured and uninsured.
Feeling strongly the urgent need for steps to be taken in this direction
representations were made on the 30th October, 1912 (a) to the Local
Government Board asking them to make an Order authorising the admission
of advanced cases of consumption into the Metropolitan Asylums Board
hospitals, and (b) to the Metropolitan Asylums Board asking them to agree to
the admission of such cases into their hospitals.
The following replies were received, viz.: —
From the Local Government Board, dated 18th January, 1913,
stating that the suggestions of the Borough Council have been uoted for
consideration ; and
From the Metropolitan Asylums Board, dated 1st April, 1913,
stating that it is understood that the whole question of the provision by
the Board of accommodation for cases of Tuberculosis is now under
consideration by the Government Departments concerned, and that the
views expressed by the Borough Council have been duly noted.
A. Povvel Coke,
Chief Clerk.