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97
The number of cases notified towards the end of the year had
not in any way come up to the expectation that we had before the
Act came into force. There still seems to be some reluctance to
[notify these ' minor ailments' as they are regarded by some people.
It is early yet to make any final pronouncement as to the value of
the Regulations, and whether it is going to have any effect when
Wealing with Puerperal Fever.
The notification and treatment of Ophthalmia Neonatorum
kinder the new regulations has simplified matters by placing the
burden of notification solely on the Medical Practitioner in attendanee,
whereas before, the Midwife had to notify as well. There
were occasions on which no notification came to the Medical Officer
owing to the fact that the Midwife was under the impression that
the Doctor called in had notified, so that the dual system has been
[finally done away with and the responsibility placed solely on the
Medical Practitioner in attendance. The notification is secured
by the fact that the Midwife has to send for medical assistance in
any case of discharge from the eyes. The burden of notifying to
the Superintendent Authority—that is the County Medical Officer,
is also laid upon the local Medical Officer of Health so as to complete
the machinery. There appears to be some uncertainty in
[the minds of Practitioners as to whether they should notify only the
severe cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum or whether they should
notify any case of discharge from the eyes.
The ruling of the Ministry of Health is that there is no discretion
allowed to the Practitioner, whose duty it is to notify any
[ease coming within the definition under the Regulations, that is,
"a purulent discharge from the eyes of an infant, commencing
Kvithin 21 days from the date of its birth." In order to deal with
[these two diseases efforts were made by approaching the Joint
[Hospital Committee jointly with the Medical Officer of Health of
[Richmond who is the other Consulting Physician to the Hospital,
|and we made a report on the advisability of treating these diseases
|in an Isolation Hospital, but the Committee decided against it.