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17
CROYDON AND WIMBLEDON JOINT SMALLPOX HOSPITAL.
The Smallpox Hospital District comprises the County Borough of
Croydon, the Borough of Wimbledon, the Urban Districts of Penge
and of Merton, and the Croydon Rural District. The Hospital has
not been used for smallpox since August, 1906.
During the course .of the year the Board considered the
desirability of using the hospital for patients suffering from consumption
and I accordingly prepared the following report :—
Public Health Department,
Town Hall, Croydon,
July 18th, jgio
To the Chairman and Members of the
Croydon and Wimbledon Joint
Smallpox Hospital Board.
Gentlemen,—
In accordance with your instructions, I beg to report on the question of
utilising the Hospital for patients suffering from tuberculosis. As desired, I
have also conferred with the Medical Officer of the Local Government Board,
who is personally in sympathy with the suggested utilisation of the Hospital for
other than smallpox patients.
The first question that arises is the legality of utilising a Smallpox Hospital
for patients suffering from other diseases. As the Croydon and Wimbledon
Joint Board was constituted for the sole and specific purpose of isolating small
pox, it would doubtless be necessaiy to apply for an amendment of the
Pro visional Order under which the Board was constituted. It is possible that
such an amending Order would be opposed by people living in the neighbourhood
of the Hospital, and if it were we might have to face an expensive fight in
the Houses of Parliament, and the risk of interference with the present use of
the Hospital. Apart from this difficulty, I can see considerable advantage in
utilising the Hospital for tuberculosis.
The second point which deserves "consideration is the suitability of the
Hospital for the purpose of treating phthisis patients. It should be said at once
that neither the soil nor the general surroundings are such as one would select
for an ideal sanatorium. On the othe other hand, the conditions are reasonably
suitable for the treatment of the class of patients that would be likely to avail
themselves of the institution, and I believe that valuable work might be done in
a Hospital so situated. I do not think that the fact that the Hospital was built
for small pox would eventually be a bar to patients seeking admission, though no
doubt a certain amount of prejudice would have to be overcome in the first
instance At any rate, other towns, such as Manchester, are using smallpox
accommodation for phthisis patients, and the South Staffordshire Smallpox
Hospital Board has recently adopted a recommendation of their Medical Officer
to make similar use of their hospital. In order that the Board might carry out
their primary duty of isolating smallpox, it would be necessary either to reserve
the small four-bedded block for smallpox emergencies or to erect a small
temporary ward ot a greater distance from the present buildings, and to reserve
this for the first case or two of smallpox. Were this done I can see no difficulty
in utilising the rest of the Hospital for phthisis patients provided they were
admitted on the understanding that in the event of an epidemic they might have
to be sent home at a few days notice.