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17
of the district from the ravages of a Small-pox epidemic by
themselves providing or by arranging for hospital accommodation
on an adequate scale.
Hospital accommodation for Small-pox in this district may
be provided in one of two ways—either by providing and staffing
such a hospital, or by entering into an arrangement with some
other authority.
The former method, besides being probably the more expensive,
is impracticable so far as building a Small-pox hospital within
the confines of the district is concerned, for the Local Government
Board will not grant a loan:—where the site has within a quarter
of a mile of it either a hospital, a workhouse, or any similar
establishment, or a population of as many as 200 persons—or
where the site has within half a mile of it a population of as many
as 600 persons, whether in one or more institutions or in dwellinghouses.
These restrictions as to site for a Small-pox hospital are based
on scientific investigations which have proved the peculiar tendency
of Small-pox infection to spread from such institutions; and
they should, in my opinion, be observed quite independently of
any application to the Local Government Board for sanction to
borrow money for the erection of the hospital.
The other alternative—that of entering into an arrangement
with some other authority—has at different times engaged your
attention.
West Ham and a combination of authorities having a Smallpox
Hospital at South Mimms might now be approached and