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3!)
Comprehensive Scheme for the Treatment of
Tuberculosis.
A complete scheme for the treatment of Tuberculosis embraces a number of
conditions, and to make it satisfactory there should be a co-ordination and cooperation
of all authorities which deal with patients suffering from Tuberculosis,
their relatives and contacts.
(1) In the first place, the Public Health Department should be the centre
of the organisation which should link up the other agencies, as it is to
the Medical Officer of Health of the district all cases are officially
notified.
Medical men are compelled to notify all cases unless they have
reason to believe that the cases have already been notified.
(2) Upon the receipt of a notification, the Medical Officer of Health or
Officer of the Local Authority acting under the instructions of the
Medical Officer of Health, shall visit the premises and take such
steps as are necessary or desirable for investigating the source of
infection, for preventing the spread of infection, and for removing the
cause of infection if possible.
(3) Visit by Nurse.—The preliminary visit may well be done by a Nurse
or Health Visitor, who will fill up a form containing full particulars of
home conditions. At this visit, the Nurse may discover that the
patient or doctor desires one of the dispensaries to undertake the
treatment, when necessary arrangements can be made. In every case
the Nurse gives advice on the preventive aspect, supplies a sputum
flask and disenfectants, and fills up her form of particulars. This
form is returned to the Medical Officer of Health and the Tuberculosis
Officer, and if the patient is dealt with at a dispensary, a copy is
supplied to the Medical Officer of the dispensary.
(4) Contacts.—The home of every notified case is to be visited at least
once a month, whether the patient is in a sanatorium, is attended by
a private doctor, or at a dispensary. The contacts are seen by the
Nurse who urges and makes arrangements for them to be
examined:—
(a) By Private Practitioners.—If the Consumptive is a patient of a
general practitioner, the latter will be informed of the names of
the contacts, and if it is the doctor's intention to examine the
contacts, endeavours will be made to obtain a confidential report
of such examination. If he is in doubt as to the condition of
any of them, the services of the Tuberculosis Officer are at his
disposal. If it is not his intention to examine contacts, this can
be done by one of the Medical Officers of the dispensaries or
Tuberculosis Officer.