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57
your Committee much valuable information as to the difficulties
experienced by persons of the non-pauper class in seeking to obtain
the removal of infectious patients.
“ The removal of persons of all classes suffering from infectious
disorders should, in the opinion of your Committee, be the duty of
a public authority; and your Committee regret that, possessing as the
Managers do the piachinery for the prompt and economical removal of
such cases, they do not appear to have power to use their Ambulances
for persons other than those contemplated by the Poor Law Act of
1879.
“Your Committee therefore recommend that the Assistant-Commissioner
be informed, in reply to his letter of the 10th November—
(a) “That the Managers are not prepared to undertake the
tion of public vehicles, as they are of opinion that such
disinfection cannot be effipiently performed owing to the usual
construction of those vehicles ;
(b) “That the Managers consider that the conveyance of infectious
cases by public vehicles should be prohibited by law ;
(e) “hat the Managers already possess the machinery for the
prompt and economical removal of infectious cases, but do not
at present appear to have power to use their Ambulances for
other cases than those contemplated by the Poor Law Act of
1879; and
(d) “That the Managers will be willing to co-operate with the Commissioner
of Police, with the view of obtaining for the Board
the power to undertake the general removal of infectious
cases in the Metropolis.”
The report was adopted by the Board.
I quite concur in the view that “ conveyance of infectious
cases by public vehicles should be prohibited by law,” but before
effect can be given to such a proposition, provision should be
made for the conveyance of infectious cases by the Managers, or
other constituted authority, in public ambulances. In the absence
of a proper service of public ambulances great difficulty is experienced
in obtaining a suitable carriage for the conveyance of an
infectious private patient, and hence the improper and dangerous
practice of using public vehicles. Animated by a sense of the
danger of this practice, I put myself into communication with the
Board, 12th December, 1884, writing as follows:—