View report page

41
National Insurance Act. Sanatorium Benefit.—The part played by the
Medical Officer of Health in connection with the administration of sanatorium benefit
was remarkably small. Little or no use was made by the Insurance Committee of the
machinery provided by the Borough Council for the prevention of tuberculosis, and
there was no real attempt to arrange for the working together of the two forces—the
Insurance Act force and the preventive force of the Council.
It is true that an Insurance Sub-Committee for the Borough was appointed, to
which the Council were asked to elect certain representatives and to send their
Medical Officer of Health. This met once to elect a Chairman and receive an
address from a representative of the Insurance Committee on work which the
Sub-Committee might perform. An hour for future meetings, which were never
held, was also arranged.
It is true also that from time to time the Clerk to the Insurance Committee asks
for figures with regard to the proportion of insured persons amongst the notified cases
and the registered deaths.
It is true that reports are received from the Clerk to the Insurance Committee
as to patients admitted to and discharged from sanatoria, and that occasionally an
insured person writes to the Medical Officer of Health under the impression that he
may possibly be able to bring pressure to bear upon the Insurance Committee to
favourably consider his claims for admission to a sanatorium.
But that is all.
Large numbers of persons in the Borough may be receiving sanatorium benefit;
there is no evidence to the contrary in the possession of the Medical Officer of Health.
Letters written by the Medical Officer of Health pointing out that the home
conditions of an insured consumptive person are so bad that it would be well if he
were admitted to an institution for treatment may influence the Insurance Committee;
there is no evidence that such letters are capable of producing any effect.
One piece of definite information the Medical Officer of Health did receive in
1913, and that was a return, or set ot returns, showing that 42 insured persons were
admitted to sanatoria.
Other pieces of information he got out for himself or for the Insurance
Committee, viz., that of the 680 persons notified, 213 were insured persons, and of
those who died of consumption (191) 44 were insured.
Some information with regard to numbers of insured persons treated for
consumption is given in a letter sent by Dr. Halliday Sutherland, of the St.
Marylebone Dispensary for the Prevention of Consumption.
That letter was written at the request of the Medical Officer of Health, and the
statement with regard to insured persons given because it was specially asked for.
All these facts distinctly show that there is an absence of proper co-operation