View report page

114
Purposes Committee for consideration and report. The Committee
took the subject into consideration on June 23rd; then- report was
adopted by your Vestry on July 1st, and the subjoined communication
was addressed to the Clerk to the Asylums Board on the
following day:-—
"Sir,—I am directed by the Vestry of Kensington to
state that they have had under consideration your letter
dated May 28tli last, addressed to their Medical Officer of
Health, in which you state that the General Purposes Committee
of the Metropolitan Asylums Board request to be
informed—
•Whether some means could be adopted whereby the Vestry would
hold themselves responsible (under the contract contemplated by
Section 15 of the Poor Law Act, 1879) for the cost of the maintenance
of cases of fever or small-pox which may be removed to
hospital upon the certificate of certain qualified medical practitioners,
who would act as deputies of the Medical Officer of Health, and be
responsible to him for the proper diagnosis of the cases to be removed,
and would also be recognised by the Vestry as their responsible officers
in regard to this particular branch of sanitary legislation ?'
"In reply, I am directed to state, for the information of
the General Purposes Committee, that the Vestry gave particular
attention to this subject in November last, in
connection with the Special Report of the same Committee,
dated October 14th. The Vestry having further considered
the matter, see no reason to depart from the principles referred
to in their letter to the Managers, dated November 21st, as
having been previously adopted by the Vestry with reference
to the question of the 'reception and treatment' of socalled
non-pauper patients at the Managers' hospitals. They
are not prepared, therefore, to entertain the proposed plan of
contracting with the Managers for the reception and treatment
of such patients.
"The Vestry desire again to invite the attention of the
Committee to what they consider to be the greater simplicity