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80
The Admissions at the "Western Hospitals in 1887 were
1,185, viz:—940 from the Parishes and Unions in the West
District, and 245 from other districts. These latter cases were
admitted while the North-Western (Hampstead) Hospital and
the South-Western (Stockwell) Hospital were closed. For
economical reasons, and not being required, the North-Western
Hospital was closed in January, 1886, and not re-opened until
August, 1887, upon the supervention of the Scarlet Fever
epidemic. In like manner the South-Western Hospital was
closed in August, .1886, and re-opened in September, 1887.
The Managers have recently (April) closed this Hospital again,
the epidemic being at an end; some of those, however, who
were opposed to the opening of the Northern Hospital preferred
that that institution should be closed instead. Their views
happily did not prevail, and it is clearly desirable that the Northern
Hospital should be in permanent use as a Convalescent Home,
especially for children recovering from fever.
CLINICAL INSTRUCTION.
The Managers, desirous of making their hospitals available
for clinical instruction, upon conditions embodied in a report
dated February, 1886, and as contemplated by Section 29 of the
Metropolitan Poor Act, 1867, obtained from the Local Government
Board the necessary authorisation, and registered practitioners
are now eligible to be appointed,with the status of assistant
medical officer, the period of residence being limited to three
months. The arrangement is prospectively advantageous, seeing
how greatly the opportunities of medical students for studying
infectious diseases have been curtailed, not to say annihilated,
as regards small-pox, scarlet fever, etc., by exclusion from
general hospitals of sufferers from these diseases. But
young medical men have not shown that desire to avail
themselves of the advantages which might have been
expected.