View report page

100
Officer for duty at the Wharves, whose duty it was to inspect
patients brought thereto, with a view to revising the diagnosis
in each case, in order to spare patients the often very considerable
journey to the South-Eastern Hospital (Deptford), for
examination : 368 patients were certified, but only 298 of
them were permitted to proceed to the Hospital Ships.
The cost of the Ambulance Services is necessarily large.
It was £10,528 for the three Stations, irrespective of £2,982
expended out of loan for the enlargement of the Western
Station ; but inclusive of £850 spent upon new vehicles required
to replace worn-out vehicles, and to meet the increased work
of the service. The River Service cost £5,685; the grand
total thus being, in round numbers, £19,915. The general
expenditure in respect of the three Ambulance Stations was
47 per-cent. in excess of that of 1891, but the work of 1892
exceeded that of 1891 by no less than 149 per-cent.
THE NEEDS OF THE METROPOLIS IN RESPECT
OF HOSPITAL ACCOMMODATION FOR
THE INFECTIOUS SICK.
It is an accepted axiom that provision for the isolation of
infectious disease should be at the rate of not less than one
bed for each thousand of the population. The subject, as
regards the Metropolis, was considered by the Royal Commission
in 1881-2; and the Commissioners stated in their
report (1882), that the then provision of Hospitals should be
extended, so as to provide 5,100 beds at the least; viz : 3,000,
nominally, for " Fever," and 2,100 for Small-pox. Diphtheria
eases were not at that time admissible to the Hospitals. The
population of London in 1882 was a little under 4,000,000.
Consequently, the recommendation of the Commissioners
went, to the extent of 1,100 beds, beyond the theoretical requirements
of the day. Naturally, however, they intended to
make provision for a lengthened period in advance,