View report page

35
As cases can only be notified with the consent of the
patient or those in charge of the patient, the certificates received
represent only a small proportion of those affected, and
give no indication of the actual prevalence of the disease.
Judging from the recorded mortality and the average duration
of pulmonary tuberculosis, the actual number of cases in the
District is probably between sixty and eighty.
When we consider how frequently it happens that the
wage earner of the family is attacked by the disease and yet
struggles on at work knowing his only chance of permanent
recovery lies in prolonged rest and treatment, one can somewhat
realise the amount of suffering entailed. At the present
time it is extremely difficult to find accommodation in any of
the existing special hospitals, and even if fortunate enough
to obtain an admission order, it is usually only after a long
wait.
There is an undoubted need of sanatorium provision for
the County, and it should be on an adequate scale so as to
allow of patients being admitted at an early stage and given
prolonged treatment. What is more, it should be possible to
admit patients in a comparatively advanced stage, with a view
to teaching them the simple and necessary precautions they
should observe so as to avoid being a source of infection.
In regard to the infective nature of the disease, it does
not appear to be sufficiently appreciated by the public
generally that thorough disinfection of a consumptive patient's
bedroom and belongings is advisable after his death or removal.
Every facility has been given by the Council in the hope of inducing
the relations to apply for the disinfection to be carried
out., and although a few applications were received last year,
in the majority of cases the relatives appeared to consider the
precaution unnecessary.