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and therefore necessarily remote from many parts of the Metropolis.
They are fewer now than they should be under improved sanitary
legislation.
2. The advantages of a limited number of hospitals for the whole Metropolis,
and under one central authority, preponderate. This authority should,
in the opinion of the Society, make provision for all classes of persons.
The Society also entertain a strong opinion that admission to these hospitals
should not entail pauperisation.
3. As legal proceedings are now in progress concerning the Hampstead and
Fulham Hospitals, the Society do not desire to express any opinion on
the several existing small-pox and fever hospitals.
4. Provision for mild cases of small-pox and for convalescent cases should
be made outside the Metropolis. If this were done probably eight wellplaced
hospitals, containing 150 beds each, would suffice for the small-pox
cases that must be treated in hospitals within the Metropolis, i.e., cases
too ill to be removed to any great distance from their homes; similar
provision of convalescent institutions should be made for fever cases.
5. No hospital for small-pox patients should, in the opinion of the Society,
contain more than 150 patients at any one time. They are also of
opinion that to each hospital for fever and for small-pox cases, a district
should be allocated, and only overflow cases, in emergencies, should be
removed to any other hospital than that of the district properly assigned
to such hospital. The adoption of this principle would obviate many
objections to the existing system of hospital accommodation.
G. The Society consider that the Hospital Authority should have the power
to acquire sites for hospitals compulsorily, and that, subject to the hospitals
being conducted with reasonable care, and according to prescribed
regulations, the Authority should be protected from legal proceedings,
so as to secure the public against the loss of the benefits arising from
these Institutions.
The Society, moreover, submitted to the Royal Commission
the necessity for additional legislation to secure:—
(1) Compulsory notification of infectious diseases; and
(2) Compulsory powers to enable the Sanitary Authority to
enforce the removal to hospital of the infective sick,
not possessed of lodging or accommodation enabling
them to be properly treated and isolated.
EVIDENCE AND NOTES BY THE MEDICAL OFFICER
OF HEALTH.
Having myself been invited to give evidence before the Commission
and to forward an abstract of the evidence I proposed to
give, I drew up somewhat hurriedly, on short notice, the following