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1 feltworker, 2 made fancy confectionery, 1 was a french polisher, 1 a hospital
cleaner, 1 an errand girl, 1 hairbrush maker, 1 a tent stitcher, 1 an umbrella
stitcher, 1 a shop assistant, 1 a cork sorter, 1 a rope spinner, 1 a shuttlecock
maker and 1 a book-keeper.
In the inspections of the dwellings of the patients the points to which attention
was specially directed were the amount of cubic space available for the
patient, the means for securing efficient ventilation, the amount of light, dryness
of the dwelling and the general conditions as regards cleanliness. As a result of
the inspections made, in 331 instances the dwellings were satisfactory or fairly so ;
in the remaining 194 they were unsatisfactory. In 176 of the cases family histories
of tuberculosis were obtained, and in 148 there was evidence more or less strong
pointing to infection from previous cases either in the dwellings or where the
patients worked.
Disinfection was carried out by the Sanitary Authority in connection with
212 rooms at 201 premises and the usual steps were taken as regards textile articles
exposed to infection. In a number of cases institutional treatment was obtained
for uninsured patients through the agency of charitable societies at work in the
Borough.
From the reports received from the Insurance Committees for the County of
London 134 insured persons, 93 male and 41 female, received institutional
treatment in sanatoria or hospitals during the year. The periods of stay in the institutions
varied from one or two days to eight or nine months in a few instances,
the usual length of time being from six weeks to three months. With regard to
the males 41 can be said to have improved whilst in the institutions, 17 were still
in the institutions at the end of the year, and the remainder must be regarded as
cases in which there was no improvement or in which improvement was doubtful.
Five of the cases were not considered as cases of phthisis at the institutions they
were sent to. As regards the females, in 26 instances improvement took place,
7 were away at the end of the year, and in the rest improvement was doubtful or
absent. One was not regarded as being phthisis.
Most of the male patients were sent to Downs Sanatorium, and of the females
most of them went to Winchmore Hill.
The accommodation for consumptives at the Shoreditch Infirmary was largely
made use of during the year, mainly by advanced cases. About 49 per cent, of
the deaths from phthisis in the Borough occurred at this institution. Upwards
of 62 per cent. of the persons belonging to Shoreditch who died from consumption
during the year died in public institutions within or without the
Borough.
At the end of last year, as mentioned in my report for that year, negotiations
were in progress between Borough Council and the authorities of the Royal