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General Purposes Sub-Committee of the County Committee with
regard to the curtailment of their powers and duties, and is of
opinion that further powers should be delegated."
On February 2nd, representatives of the three Authorities attended a
meeting of the Middlesex Insurance Committee and supported their views
enunciated in the above resolutions.
On February 13th, the Edmonton representatives presented their report on
the conference of February 2nd to the local Committee, and the draft of a letter
was adopted and sent to the County Committee. In that letter the District
Committee said:—
"We submit that diminution of the powers of District Committees
would before long produce apathy, instead of enthusiasm, amongst
the members of these Committees, and a lessening of respect for
the Committee by the inhabitants of the district."
They endorsed the opinion of the Edmonton Council recorded in September,
1912, that all Medical Officers of Health should be co-opted on the local
Committees appointed for their respective areas, as this was the best way to
secure real co-operation between the local Medical Officers of Health and the
County Medical Officer; in the final paragraph of the local Committee's letter
a hope was expressed that the County Council would co-operate with the
District Council and not seek to work on independent lines.
At the same meeting, a reply was read from the County Council to the
District Committee's enquiry of December, 1913 (forwarded through the Clerk
of the County Insurance Committee), which only gave us a synopsis of the
duties of tuberculosis nurses in the service of the County and completely evaded
a direct reply to the enquiry "Do the County Council intend to establish
tuberculosis nurses in area No. 1 on the terms of their Public Health Committee's
reports of October, 1912, and February, 1913, or not"? [We may
surmise, therefore, that such is not the intention of the County Council or its
Public Health Committee.] It was decided, on the motion of the Chairman
and Councillor S. H. Flatten, that Dr. Cogill., the Tuberculosis Officer for Area
No. 1, be asked to state what his methods of dealing were with cases of which
he was advised otherwise than through the district committee. He (the
Chairman) had reported three cases and nothing whatever had been done.
On 10th February, the County Council sent a letter as to co-operation in
the administrative treatment of Tuberculosis between the District Council and
the County Council, asking the District Council to submit full details of
any suggestions which they might have to offer for co-operation in this matter,
and stating that any suggestions would receive full consideration.