View report page

60
(d) Domiciliary Treatment cases. These are patients insured
under the National Health Insurance Acts, under the
care of a Panel Doctor; the latter sending reports
every three months to the Tuberculosis Officer on a
special form for that purpose.
The Panel Doctors act in accordance with regulations
of their contract and they can always refer a panel
patient to the Tuberculosis Officer at any time for advice
or opinion.
The Tuberculosis Officer frequently refers patients
under this scheme to the Panel Doctor after return from
sanatorium, especially when general medical treatment
is required : no "routine" treatment by drugs being carried
out at the Dispensary, except in very special cases
or in an emergency.
It may be pointed out at this juncture that very few
drugs have any specific action of permanent value in
dealing with tuberculosis, medicinal treatment being
practically only of palliative nature : a possible exception
can perhaps be made in the case of the drug known as
"Sanocrysin"—a preparation of Gold—which in many
consumptives seems to exert a beneficial action. A
patient treated by this method may however shew a very
decided idiosyncrasy—'almost amounting in some to
poisoning and sanocrysin treatment is therefore carried
out preferably at a hospital, where adequate measures
can be adopted at once should such a result occur.
Sanatorium treatment, if considered advisable, is
recommended by the Tuberculosis Officer to the London
County Council which is the authority responsible for
giving institutional treatment of all kinds-both for
medical and surgical cases, the latter usually requiring
very lengthy periods away.
Special Forms of Treatment.
Patients are frequently referred to Brompton Hospital
for special treatments, such as Sanocrysin,
Artificial Pneumothorax, Oleothorax and other operative
measures for putting an affected lung at rest, which is an
important factor in assisting nature to promote healing.