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17
THE HOSPITAL.
The hospital staff remains the same, and excepting the presence of any
severe outbreak is ample for the work.
The building, which has now been erected nearly five years, requires the
interior painting and renovating, and this work is already in the hands of the
Sub-Committee, who have also decided to recommend that wooden louvred
shutters be placed outside the windows.
This, though expensive at first, will be a distinct improvement, inasmuch
as it will do away with a certain risk of detention of infection by the inside
blinds.
In all, during the half-year, 23 cases have been treated at the hospital,
viz.:—
4 cases measles,
16 „ scarlet fever, and
3 „ mumps.
Fortunately Ave have not had to deal with more than one disease at a time,
nor have we had to receive cases of small-pox.
It is my duty here to call attention once again to the imperfect hospital
provision at Gravesend.
The existing wards, excellently constructed as they are, do not give
sufficient accommodation for the separation of different varieties of disease.
It might at any time occur that a case of small-pox and a case, say, of scarlet
fever should be admitted at the same time, and if so, then the hospital would
be at once fully occupied, and no more cases of any other disease could be
safely admitted.
In the provision of hospitals grave responsibilities are undertaken by
sanitary authorities, and I am anxious only to place this important matter in
its true light.
Whether in a separate ward or no. it is certainly conceded as an indefensible
act to place small-pox under the same roof as any other disease.
And, further, I am of opinion that it would not be safe to place small-pox
patients in either of our buildings while other cases were in any part of the
hospital. This difficulty has occurred, but happily during hot weather, and
was then got over by the purchase, at an expense of about 50l., of a hospital
marquee. This is still available for the summer, but it is obvious that we
cannot calculate on such cases occurring only in hot weather. As a matter
of fact, epidemics occur during the winter months.
D