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53
We have received from the Dispensaries Committee a statement of the conditions
upon which they suggest that the existing dispensaries should be recognised by the
Council. Among these conditions are the following :—
(4) That the Chief Medical Officer of the Dispensary shall, under the
administrative direction of the Medical Officer of Health, act as Tuberculosis
Officer to the Borough in the carrying out of a comprehensive scheme
for the prevention and treatment of tuberculosis in the Borough.
(5) That in everything pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of
patients the Chief Medical Officer of the Dispensary shall be independent
of control by the Medical Officer of Health or any other medical man.
(8) That the Dispensary shall be managed by a Committee conforming
to the rules of the Central Fund, which Committee shall raise the necessary
means for the maintenance and efficient working of the Dispensary.
(9) That if the Borough Council vote a substantial contribution to
the funds of the Dispensary, the Executive Committee of the Dispensary
shall invite the Borough Council to nominate three representatives, including
the Medical Officer of Health, the latter to be ev-of/icio a member of
the Dispensary Committee.
These conditions have, we are informed, been drawn up by the management
of the Central Fund ; but we understand that the Local Dispensary Committee are
themselves of opinion that the Council's representation should be largely increased,
and that they have arranged to confer with the Committee of the Central Fund
upon the subject, and also upon the question of the control by the Medical Officer
of Health of the Staff of the Dispensary.
Whilst three-fourths of the funds of the local Dispensary Committee are drawn
from the Central Fund (one-fourth being required to be raised locally by voluntary
subscriptions), it is obvious that the Committee of that Fund will desire to possess
considerable control over the expenditure in connection with the Dispensaries and
the principles upon which the institutions are conducted, and it might be extremely
difficult for the Council's representatives or the Medical Officer of Health to secure
that the work of the Dispensaries should be conductcd on lines conforming to our
work in connection with the Public Health administration of the Borough, if either
the local Committee or the Committee of the Central Fund intimated that any
particular policy suggested was not acceptable to them.
Again, we are of opinion, as already stated, that the officers of the Dispensary
should be members of the Staff of the Public Health Department, and unless these
officers are in the Council's employment we do not think that the Medical Officer
of Health would have the control over them which would be necessary in order to
obtain efficient service on lines acceptable to the Council.