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61
suggesting, inter alia, that the certificate should state the age
and sex of the patient. The Board, in their reply, observed that
these particulars were not required for the purpose for which the
system of notification was rendered compulsory, and that it would
devolve upon the officers of the local authority to obtain this
and such further information as might be requisite with reference
to the particular case. The Board, therefore, declined to alter
their Order, but said that there could be no objection to any
medical practitioner furnishing such additional information as was
indicated in the Managers' letter, if he were willing to do so. In
the form of certificate in use in this Parish, provision was made
from the first for giving the age of the patient and the address of
the certifying practitioner, and such information is, always
given.
The Asylums Board considerately acceded to a suggestion
made to them to supply to the several Medical Officers of Health
a copy of the weekly return oi cases notified. For long prior to
the passing of the Act, they had sent to the Medical Officer of
each district a daily return of the cases for whose admission to
hospital application had been made, a return which was often the
first, and sometimes the only, intimation, we had of the occurence
of infectious disease in particular houses. When the weekly
return of cases notified was issued, the Managers decided to discontinue
the daily return of cases admitted to their hospitals.
This proved a serious loss, especially in view of the opinion
expressed by the Local Government Board, that it is not necessary
under the Act for the Medical Officer of a hospital to notify.*
The Statistical Committee of the Asylums Board reported
(31st March) that in January and February no fewer than 114
* Under section 3, sub-section 1, every case of infectious disease occurring
amongst the inmates of any building used for human habitation must
be notified, lunless such building is a hospital in which persons suffering from
an infectious disease are received," or, in other words, as a natural interpretation
would seem to imply, " unless such building is an infectious disease hospital
But the Local Government Board expressed an opinion that all general hospitals
and infirmaries are exempted by the sub-section from the necessity to
notify, the effect of such exemption being that many cases were not notified at
all, and the houses wherein such cases occurred were not disinfected.