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12
As no report of the illness had been made to Her Majesty's Customs at
Gravesend on arrival a letter was sent to the authorities informing them of
the facts.
On 1st June the steam ship "Clan Macpherson," from Calcutta, came into
Tilbury Dock. On 2nd a seaman was taken ill. He was attended by
a medical man, treated as a case of lung disease, and sent to Seamen's
Hospital, where he was found to have enteric fever, and the fact reported to
Port Sanitary Authority.
As' the vessel had already left for Glasgow notice was at once sent to the
Medical Officer of Health of that port.
June 18th.—The captain-superintendent of the Training Ship "Arethusa"
reported that a boy had died on board from blood-poisoning, following what
was afterwards diagnosed as enteric fever. There was no suspicion of the
nature of the illness during its course and no other cases occurred on board.
I have repeatedly brought before your Worshipful Committee the serious
position in which training ships without some means of isolation of infectious
disease would be placed in the event of an outbreak. Two of these institutions
only are in this dangerous position, viz., the School Board Ship
"Shaftesbury," off Grays, and the "Arethusa," off Greenhithe.
During the early part of 1888 the "Shaftesbury" had a severe lesson in
the shape of an outbreak of scarlet fever, which, fortunately, was controlled at
an early stage by the means of isolation in your hospital at Gravesend.
This is no longer available, and to cope with a like outbreak would now be
a most difficult matter—very costly even if successful. It was hoped that, as
a result of this warning, arrangements would have been made for the provision
of what your medical officer has so often urged upon the authorities,
viz., a small, perfectly isolated building, fitted with say, eight or ten beds for
cases of infectious disease. The simplest plan which I suggested was that an
arrangement should be made with the Port Sanitary Authority whereby a
certain number of beds at Gravesend would be kept available for the
ship in return for an annual payment for a certain term of years. Your
Authority has land in excess of present requirements, and also a medical
officer and administrative staff upon the spot.
The distance is but small, and either the launch or ambulance boat would
be at the service of the ship. Thus, for an annual payment far below the cost
of an independent hospital, however small it might be, the ship would have
the use of a staff and beds, while the Port Sanitary Authority, by the agreement
being made for a certain term, could erect a small pavilion for the
treatment of small-pox only.