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As this report is being written, it is learned that
the Middlesex County Council intends to call a
conference on this subject. The outcome of this
conference is eagerly awaited, as the welfare of the
aged represents a problem which is increasing year
by year.
It is pleasing to be able to record that the
difficulty in obtaining admission to hospital of
confinement cases has now very appreciably eased, since the
difficult days immediately following the war. Indeed
there is now evidence that the number of mothers having
their children in hospital is too high than too low.
It is equally satisfactory to place on record the fact
that admission to hospital of cases of infectious disease
has worked very smoothly. This does not apply wholly
to tuberculosis, where although the position has improved,
the waiting lists for the admission of patients to
sanatoria and hospitals are still too long. When one
remembers that the methods applied to the early discovery
of tuberculosis are improving year by year, the importance
of finding an early solution to this problem will be
appreciated.
As already noted, the infectious disease picture
has changed materially over the past few years. This
has eased the strain of hospital beds, although staffing
problems are still acute. The principle which we now
adopt in regard to the admission of cases of infectious
disease to hospital can be briefly stated. Broadly
speaking, admission to hospital is recommended in the case
of patients for whom continuous nursing and medical attention
are required, or where the danger of complications
and sequalae is likely to arise. So far as mild infectious
diseases are concerned, we do not press with admission
to hospital unless suitable isolation cannot be
provided in the home, or unless the employment of a breadwinner
is affected. For practical purposes, 'suitable
isolation' is defined as the availability of a room for the
patient's sole use. General practitioners in the
district co-operate most cordially in the application of
these principles.
Laboratory Facilities.
These services are provided by the Central
Public Health Laboratory, Colindale, and the Branch
Laboratory, Coppetts Wood Hospital, Coppetts Road, N.10.
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