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87
The number of cases of infectious disease notified to the
Metropolitan Medical Officers of Health in 1892 were, after
elimination of duplicate certificates, 40,074, as against 26,522
in 1891, and 29,795 in 1890.
After dealing with the nursing question, one of no ordinary
difficulty, the Chairman refers to the action taken by the
Board in view of the threatened epidemic of Cholera, and to
the arrangements which would have enabled the Managers to
provide upwards of 2,000 beds had the need arisen. Questions
of internal administration of the several institutions are
considered, as well as removals to hospitals, some account of
which will be found in the Abstract of the Ambulance Committee's
Report at page 96. The provision of accommodation
for imbeciles, which is one of the functions of the Board, is
also dealt with, but the subject does not call for notice here.
The same remark applies to statements relating to the important
work of the Managers in connection with the Training Ship
"Exmouth."
The expenditure of the Board during 1892 exceeded by
about £178,000 that of 1891. Of this increase £90,000 is
accounted for by the provision of temporary accommodation
consequent on the scarlet fever epidemic. The whole sum
was charged to the Managers' current account. But for the
urgency of the matter, and the uncertainty of the Local
Government Board's intention as to the future of the NorthEastern
Hospital, which necessarily involved a very large expenditure,
the greater portion of the outlay for additional
accommodation would have been charged to the Loan
Account. The total expenditure on Small-pox and Fever
Hospitals amounted to £310,711 13s. 10d., viz., Maintenance
Account, £47,995 2s. 0d., and Common Charges Account,
£262,710 11s. 10d. The River Ambulance Charges are set
down at £0,025 additional. The Notification Fees repaid to
the Sanitary Authorities amounted to £4,006 15s. 6d.