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31
When the homes of all the patients notified during 1912 were visited early in
January, 1913, 312 were dead and 581 had left, and only in a few instances could
they be traced.

Tuberculosis Dispensaries.
The Stepney Tuberculosis Dispensary was started in 1911. A Provisional
Committee was formed, and it was decided to establish a Dispensary on the lines
laid down by the Central Fund for the Promotion of the Dispensary System for the
Prevention of Consumption in London. The Central Fund promised a substantial
subsidy. In view of the large area and population of the Borough of Stepney,
and the importance of the District selected for dispensary administration being
thoroughly covered, it was decided to limit operations at first, to the eastern half
of the Borough. The Dispensary was opened on May 15th, 1911, in temporary
premises at 4, Arbour Square.
Two more Dispensaries were opened in the Borough on July 1st, 1912, one being
situated at 208, High Street, Shadwell, and the other at 18, Great Prescot Street,
Whitechapel.
The aims and objects of such an institution are manifold. To quote from the
Interim Report of the Departmental Committee, the functions of the Tuberculosis
Dispensary should be:—
(1) Receiving house and centre of diagnosis.
(2) Clearing house and centre of observation.
(3) Centre for curative treatment.
(4) Centre for examination of contacts.
(5) Centre for "after care."
(6) Information bureau and educational centre.
It will be noted that the work of the Dispensary includes not only clinical,
but also preventive and administrative work.