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140
culosis Care Committee is formed of representatives of local
authorities and other local organisations. In this way all
available agencies can be linked up, and extra assistance,
such as food, change of air, clothing, better home conditions,
more suitable occupation, etc., which may be needed to
enable patients to benefit to the fullest extent from the treatment
provided, may often be readily secured. Its functions
are:—
(1) To assist the family of the tuberculous patient
before admission to, during stay, and after discharge
from an institution. Generally speaking, the function
of a Care Committee is to deal with the family,
the function of the Borough Council and the County
Council to deal with the patient. Its primary duty,
therefore, is to consider the economic position of the
family of every patient suffering from tuberculosis,
and to render such advice and assistance as circumstances
dictate, with a view to enabling the family
to maintain their economic independence and to
derive the fullest possible advantage from the
medical treatment prescribed. Before admission
to an institution the family should be visited by
one of the committee who should take steps to
facilitate the admission of the patient to the institution,
e.g., if the mother is the patient, make
arrangements for the care of the children and the
house during her absence. During the stay in the
institution, the visitor should keep the home under
regular supervision in order, e.g., to prevent, if
possible, the premature discharge of a case if all that
is needed is some simple adjustment of the family
circumstances. After discharge from the institution
she should regularly visit so as to be able to
recognise early any circumstances or difficulties