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beneficial than any medicine known to medical science, but the
majority are not in a position to compete with healthy labour, and
in order to make their work self-sufficient some form of endowment
or protection is necessary. A condition of the reception of National
Health sickness benefit is that the recipient does no work of any
kind ; this rule in the case of the Tuberculous condemns them to
months of idleness which is an encouragement to pauperism and
helpless dependency, and additionally is about the worst form of
treatment psychologically as well as physically, that could be conceived.
Undue introspection is not good for anyone; for the
Tubercular patient it is an invitation to disaster. This inflexible
rule should be modified. Sickness benefit for Tubercular persons
could serve as a form of subsidy and, in those medically certified
as fit to do work of some kind, should be given conditionally on the
patient endeavouring to do suitable work. A modification on these
lines would act as an encouragement towards the formation of
after-care occupation schemes suoh as is being earned out, to a
limited extent, in Croydon.
The Tuberculosis Dispensary and Home Visiting.
Table LXIV gives a summary of the work done in connection
with the Dispensary. At the beginning of the year there
were 1,498 persons' names on the Register; the revision of the
register commenced in 1928 was continued and by the end of
1930 the number was reduced to 1,227. These names are of
persons known to be suffering from Tuberculosis in some form
or other, in the County Borough area, with the exception of 38
cases not yet diagnosed. Ninety notified cases were examined for
the first time and 335 cases who were sent for an opinion. Four
hundred and sixty-five contacts were examined, of whom 14
were pronounced tubercular. This is an important preventive
measure, and it is regrettable that so few contacts avail themselves
of the facility. Patients attending the Dispensary made 5,482
visits during the year. One hundred and forty-six were on
Domiciliary treatment. The Tuberculosis Officer paid 252 home
visits, and the nurses 5,411. In connection with the latter figure,
the district health visitors are responsible for the first visits to cases
in their areas and the whole time Tuberculosis Health Visitor for
all subsequent visits. Cases requiring home nursing or surgical
dressings are attended to by nurses from the Croydon Nursing
Service, by arrangement with that organisation.