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(ii) the entries relating to persons who are certified by the
medical practitioner in attendance to have recovered;
and
(iii) the entries relating to persons who to his knowledge
have died, have ceased to reside permanently in
the district or who, after adequate search, cannot be
found resident in the district.
(6) Every medical officer of health, on becoming aware that a person
who has been resident in his district and who is suffering from
tuberculosis has permanently changed his place of residence
into some other district, shall forthwith notify the medical
officer of health of that district of the case and of all relevant
particulars thereof which are contained in the register of
notifications kept by him.
The register built up over the years in each district contained
particulars of every person in that district who had been notified to
the medical officer of health of that district, and particulars too of others
about whom intimation had been received from the medical officers of
health of other districts of the removal of those in these districts.
There were two ways in which the register became inaccurate. It
could be inflated by names still being on the register although the persons
had removed from the district. In this area the procedure for ensuring
that the register was not greatly inflated in this way, was that in October
all notifications were studied. Those persons about whom any information
had been received during the year, such as an intimation that they had
been admitted to, or discharged from a hospital, or a report had been
received from those at the chest clinic, were assumed to be still in the
district, and failing any other information being received about them by
the end of the year they were assumed to be in the district at the end of
the year. In regard to those about whom nothing had been received
during the year, enquiries were made from those at the chest clinics.
In most of these cases reports would have been received that the persons
were still here. Enquiries about those about whom nothing was known
determined whether the names were still to remain on the register, or
whether particulars were to be forwarded to other areas. The other
shortcoming of the register is that it might not contain the names of
those who had been notified in other districts before they came to live
in a new one. If on coming to the new district the patient attended
the chest clinic, or went to his doctor, the case would be made known to
the medical officer of health of the new district. Also, of course, if the
patient had told those at the chest clinic before removing of his intention
to transfer, particulars would be forwarded. Any patient who did not
inform the chest clinic, perhaps because he did not attend there and who
did not go to the chest clinic in the new district, or to his doctor, might be
in the new district for a long time without any intimation of this being
received by the local health office, with the result that his name would not
be on the tuberculosis register. With the considerable amount of movement
of population now taking place, in total this could cause quite a
considerable error, one which could be kept in bounds only by each
area undertaking to see that its own register was correct, because checking