View report page

100
Of the cases whose records are at the Clinic, it will be seen
that of the total number that received sanatorium treatment
during the past five years only 37.6% are working or fit for work.
The remainder are dead or too ill to work. In those cases with a
positive sputum, i.e., those in whom tubercle bacilli have been
found in the sputum, only 26.5%, or just over a quarter, are
working or fit for work.
649, or 77.4% of the total cases discharged, were T.B. + cases;
123, or 14.7% of the total cases discharged, have removed from
the Borough, and as we have no information about their condiition
at the end of 1934, they have been ignored in working out
the above percentages.
From consideration of the above Table and similar reports that
have been obtained in previous years, it would appear that the
time is not far distant when it might be advisable for another Royal
Commission to be held, to assess the value of present Tuberculosis
schemes and also to consider whether any alterations could be made
which would lead to greater success.
Tuberculosis Care Committee Report.
During the year 1934 more use than formerly was made of the
facilities afforded by the Tuberculosis Care Committee. Assistance
and advice are particularly valuable at early stages of disability, for
not only is the patient suffering from the shock of finding himself
Tubercular but he has to grapple with a collection of difficult anJ
unfamiliar problems at a time when he is mentally and physically
upset. There are domestic problems, such as keeping the home
together and the disposal of children when the patient is away;
financial problems, such as the continuance of building society
instalments and insurance premiums, and the like. Some require
direct financial assistance, but there are a number of difficulties
soluble by the patients themselves if they only knew the right
course of action.
There are many opportunities for helping patients at this
stage by sympathetic advice and assistance, and it is satisfactory
to note that knowledge of the Committee's work is filtering
through the Borough. As a tangible result of their efforts, 932
interviews involving advice and assistance took place during the
year, and 83 families were helped financially. Financial inquiries
numbered over 198, and £336 was disbursed.