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82
Hospital Extensions.— The Special Committee re Council
Finance. 15th September, 1931, in recommending that consideration
of the extensions of the Isolation Hospital be deferred for the
present, passed a reference to the Public Health Committee to
endeavour to make temporary arrangements with neighbouring
authorities for accommodation should there be an epidemic
demanding additional beds.
The following is a copy of a Special Report I presented to the
Public Health Committee at its meeting on the 14th October,
1931: —
''I may say that I view with grave apprehension the probable result
on the health of the town in the next few years of the postponement of the
extension to the Isolation Hospital.
"It will be remembered that in February, 1929, I estimated that there
were 18 beds less at the Hospital than were required for the district. The
Census figures show that there are actually 20 beds less than what can be
regarded as the minimum for the district. This is not an estimate for an
epidemic period but the normal requirements for outbreaks of infectious
disease such as occur in Ilford. As a matter of fact, in Ilford this estimate
is on the low side, as owing to the character of the houses in the district,
the nursing of infectious cases at home cannot as a rule be recommended.
"It will be recalled that in the Winter of 1929 it was necessary to
entirely close one Ward of the Hospital for Scarlet Fever patients and a
number of such cases were compelled to be nursed at home. Although at the
present time Ilford is not subject to any great incidence of Diphtheria or
Scarlet Fever, the incidence might increase greatly, as although in 1925
only 199 cases were admitted to the Hospital, yet in 1920, 506 cases were
admitted to the Hospital; in 1929, 664 cases were admitted, and in 1930
525 cases.
"As far as neighbouring authorities are concerned, it must be remembered
that whilst they would be willing to admit cases from Ilford into
their Hospitals, such assistance would only be available at a time when their
hospitals were not full, and since outbreaks of infectious disease always
occur at the same time in neighbouring districts as in Ilford, such accommodation
would not be available and would necessitate many infectious
eases being nursed at home.
"In the neighbouring authority of Dagenham, in spite of the increased
Isolation Hospital accommodation, in 1930, 221 cases of Scarlet Fever and
43 cases of Diphtheria had to be nursed at home. As far as Ilford is concerned,
the present 20 bed shortage, which will be accentuated with the
rapidly increasing population, gives an estimate that the Hospital is not
able to accommodate a total of 240 patients per annum suffering from
infectious diseases, which it should be able to do, and it will be necessarv
for the Committee to arrange with neighbouring authorities to accommodate
this number of patients.