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4. Every medical practitioner attending on or called in to visit such
inmate shall on becoming aware that such inmate is suffering from any
infectious disease, forthwith fill up, sign and deliver or send to the
Medical Officer of Health at his office a certificate or declaration
stating, according to the form so prescribed, the name of such
inmate, the situation of such building, the name of such occupier or
person, and the nature of such infectious disease from which in the
opinion of such medical practitioner such inmate is suffering;
5. The Corporation shall pay to every registered medical practitioner
who shall in pursuance of this section duly make and give any such
certificate or declaration, a fee of two shillings and sixpence for each
such certificate or declaration in respect of cases occurring in his
private practice and a fee of one shilling for each such certificate or
declaration in respect of cases occurring in his practice as a
medical officer to any public body or institution;
6. And any person who shall wilfully offend against this enactment shall
for every such offence be liable to a penalty not exceeding forty
shillings.”
Encouraged by the Report of the Select Committee, Mr.
Hastings, who had been a member of it, with Sir Trevor Lawrence,
Dr. Farquharson and Mr. Brinton, introduced a Bill in the
Session of 1883: “ To provide for the better Notification of
Infectious Diseases,” drawn on the lines of the model clause.
The Bill proposed to throw upon the householder, and upon the
medical attendant, equally, the duty of reporting cases to the
Medical Officer of Health—the so-called " dual system." A
deputation waited upon the Local Government Board in support
of the Bill, the principle of which has been accepted by Governments
of both political parties, and has the unanimous approval of
the Medical department of the Board. The President, on that
occasion, signified willingness to agree to general "legislation to
facilitate the application of the desired provisions by local
authorities, but he said the Board were of opinion that the time
had not yet come to give universally the compulsory powers
proposed, by absolute legislation. After a few years' experience
of the working of such provisions in the districts where they had
been applied, he thought the matter might be extended still further.
Meanwhile the Board were disposed to give local authorities who
wanted compulsory powers, the means of dealing with infectious