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74
No. of occasions
No. of occasions on which free extra nourishment was supplied:-
Milk 493
Food 24 517
There is no change in the procedure outlined on page 53 of my report
for 1949 in respect of the provision of free extra nourishment (milk and
food) and free convalescent treatment to tuberculous patients.
With the inception of the loan cupboard scheme, bedding for the use of
tuberculous patients is now loaned from these cupboards, and assistance towards
the purchase of such bedding is given.
Clothing for tuberculous patients is now provided by the National
Assistance Board, and it has not been necessary for the Authority to assist
in such cases.
During the year the Authority accepted responsibility for the provision
of rehabilitation for five male tuberculous patients in British Legion
Village Settlements as shown
(a) Papworth Village Settlement, Cambridge:
One patient for 26 weeks and 4 days, and one for 23 weeks.
(b) British Legion Village, Preston Hall, Maidstone, Kent:
One patient for 37 weeks and 2 days, and one for 17 weeks
and 4 days.
(c) Enham-Alamein Village Settlement, And over, Hants:
One patient for 33 weeks and one day.
B.C.G. vaccination continued to be carried out at the East Ham Chest
Clinic, and during the year 166 persons were so vaccinated.
Dr. Philip Ellman, Consulting Physician of the East Ham Chest Clinic,
has submitted the following observations on the work of the Clinic, with
particular reference to the after-care and preventive aspects:-
"Tuberculosis remains one of the greatest problems of World Medicine
today. The Chest Clinic must continue to be the pivot of all activities
in the prevention as well as the treatment of this disease, whose social
and economic factors weigh almost equally with the medical factors.
Every member of the Chest Clinic staff, medical, nursing and administrative
is encouraged to regard prevention, diagnosis, treatment and
after-care as one continuous process. Narrow lines of specialisation in
treatment which cover the more dramatic aspects are strongly discouraged,
and close contact with the machinery for prevention in conjunction with
the Medical Officer of Health and his staff is a first essential.
It is necessary to emphasise that we regard the divorce of the purely
therapeutic side of our work from the preventive and social aspects as a
retrograde step. Furthermore, our liaison with the general practitioner
is of the closest, and he is encouraged to be in the forefront of the
attack against tuberculosis.
The fall in both the incidence and mortality rate in the Borough In
recent years is encouraging but leaves no room for complacency. We aim
at continuing with a full programme directed at Tuberculosis control,
utilising every available source of help.
PREVENTIVE SCHEMES.
It is estimated that 75 per cent of the work of the Chest Clinic is