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boarding-out of children who were being discharged from Sanatorium treatment, and whose
homes were unsuitable or inimical to maintenance of health. Under this scheme:—
Recommendations for children to be sent away are sent by the Medical Officer of Health,
accompanied by reports as to the condition of the infected person and as to the home circumstances.
Children accepted as suitable are sent away for a period of three to four months, the
scheme being worked in co-operation with the Invalid Children's Aid Association.
The parents of children sent away are assessed as regards contributions by the Invalid
Children's Aid Association.
In July, 1925, the scheme was extended to include "weakly" children living under
conditions likely to subject them to infection, and also children, in suitable instances, whose
parents were under treatment for tuberculosis. The duration of boarding-out was also
extended, the children being kept away as long as the conditions in the home were
unfavourable.
The scheme has proved very useful—it would doubtless be more extensively used in
the absence of any assessment.
During the year 36 children have been boarded-out.
Treatment of Teberculosis—Cessation of Supervision.
During the year consideration was given to the fact that while much attention had, for
a long period, been given to discovering and treating cases of Tuberculosis, no systematic provision
had been made for a cessation of activities in respect of cases which could reasonably be
regarded as cured.
There was also the additional factor, that the wastage of cases by death and untraced
removal is less than the concurrent increase, so that if cases that can reasonably be regarded
as cured continue to be supervised and reported upon, the dispensaries and Public Health
Departments become overloaded.
The following proposals for the cessation of supervision were made after consultation
between the County Council and the Ministry of Health:—
1. All cases wrongly diagnosed as tuberculous, and also cases in which the diagnosis after
observation is not confirmed, are to be removed from the register.
2. (a) Pulmonary cases should be regarded as "arrested" when, for a period of 2
years, there have been no symptoms of tuberculosis and no signs of active
disease, and as "cured" when this condition has been maintained for 5 years,
that is for 3 years after the stage of "arrest" has been reached.
(6) Non-pulmonary cases may be regarded as "arrested" as soon as there is
reason to believe that the disease is unlikely to recur, and as "cured" when
3 years have elapsed without any signs or symptoms of active disease.
Cases reaching the stage of "cure" as above defined are to be discharged from
dispensary supervision, and their names removed from the dispensary register.
The above procedure came into force on January 1st, 1925, and during the year 790
names have been removed from the register.