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5. Half-an-hour's rest, lying down, should be enforced before the meal.
6. Temperatures can be taken, if required, by the Tuberculosis Officer.
7. The control of the workshop should be under a single superintendent, who should
be responsible to a small active Committee. The discipline is very important, and should be
left to the Superintendent, with a right of appeal to the Committee, but his decision should
only be over-ruled under exceptional circumstances. A large committee whose members
in any way interfered with the details of the workshop discipline would be ruinous to the
scheme.
The above appear to me to be among the more important arguments for the institution
of these workshops and to embody some of the more important principles that should
govern the workshops.
It may be suggested that the scheme is inferior to colony schemes, but it must be remembered
firstly that the industrial urban classes, especially above a certain age, are very
frequently unhappy, and will not remain in the country, and, secondly, that the expense of
colony institutions is very great.
PUBLIC HEALTH (TUBERCULOSIS) REGULATIONS, 1924.
With the object of tightening up the existing method of notification and to bring the
number of notifications recorded more in approximation with the deaths registered from
tuberculosis, the Ministry of Health issued the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations,
1924, which became operative on 1st January, 1925.
The Regulations are supplementary to those of 1912 and 1921.
The Minister, in a circular letter, issued with the Regulations, directs attention to the
following points :—
(a) Notifications under the Regulations.
1.—Notifications are occasionally made after the death of the patient has
occurred. The Minister does not consider this a formal notification under the
Regulations which entitles the practitioner to the payment of a fee.
2.—Owing to doubts which have arisen it has been decided that the Tuberculosis
Officer shall notify every case in which he diagnoses tuberculosis unless he
ascertains that the practitioner has notified, or will notify the case.
3.—New notifications on FormC or 1) should be rectified by forwarding a copy
of Form A to the notifier, and asking for notification on that Form.
4.—In the weekly returns to the Registrar-General it is asked that only the
number of primary notifications of tuberculosis on Form A or Form B received
during the week should be the figure entered in the weekly return.
5.—Prima facie evidence of neglect to notify on the part of a medical attendant
should justify the local authority in obtaining an explanation.
In this connection it has only been necessary to direct attention to one case
under this heading during the year.
6.—The advantage of obtaining information respecting deaths from tuberculosis
from the Registrar of Births and Deaths is referred to.
In the City arrangements already exist for furnishing this information.
(b) Keeping of Registers and Census of Cases.
The second part of the circular letter refers to certain office requirements in
respect of the keeping of the registers and the census of cases and calls for no comment
or special reference.
PUBLIC HEALTH (PREVENTION OF TUBERCULOSIS) REGULATIONS, 1925.
From time to time attention has been directed to the danger to the public health due to
persons suffering from tuberculosis being engaged in an occupation involving the handling
of milk under such conditions as to create a danger of infection of the milk. Local Authorities
were not armed with any effective means of removing this danger, and if persuasion
failed, the affected person might continue to spread infection by this medium.
The Public Health (Prevention of Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1925, were accordingly
framed, and it is now an offence for any person who is aware that he is suffering from tuberculosis
of the respiratory tract to enter upon any employment in connection with a dairy,
involving the milking of cows, the treatment of milk, or handling of vessels used for containing
milk.
If a person is already employed in any such occupation, the Local Authority, on a report
in writing from the Medical Officer of Health that such person is suffering from tuberculosis
of the respiratory tract, and is in an infectious state, may, by notice in writing, require him
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