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124 deaths occurred in the Poor Law Infirmaries, Poplar and Stepney Sick
Asylum, and the London Hospital, but 35 had not been notified
46 were, before their admission into the Infirmaries, inmates of Common Lodging
Houses in the district, and it can be imagined the extent of the damage caused in these
crowded places before the patients were sufficiently ill to be admitted to the Infirmaries
23 out of the 46 were not notified during their life-time
55 residents died in various Hospitals, Sanatoria and other Institutions outside
the district, 33 were notified and 22 were not notified
4 died in the Brompton Hospital, and 7 in a Sanatorium Of the former, 2 were
notified, and 6 in the latter 9 deaths were those of discharged soldiers who had
died in the Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals 2 had not been notified
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The same remark applies to other diseases of a Tubercular nature other than
Phthisis Of the 50 deaths, 28 had not been notified during their life-time
The existing Tuberculosis Dispensaries in the Borough might be the means of
placing the Tuberculosis problem on a more satisfactory footing, if they were more
closely linked to the Public Health Authority
Much might be done by the systematic examination of the " contacts " of those
patients who are notified Even then, the fact remains that more than one-half the
cases are not brought to our notice, due to the apathy or disinclination of the Doctors
in attendance to notify the disease
Homes for the isolation and alleviation of advanced cases are urgently required
instead of utilising Infirmaries, General Hospitals and even Sanatoria
Adequate provision of open-air schools, which might be of two types, viz :—
(a) Schools for children diagnosed as definite cases of Tuberculosis;
(b) Schools for pre-tuberculous or suspected cases of Tuberculosis
Many tuberculous patients have been sent away to Sanatoria, but owing to
the short length of treatment consequent on the inadequate number of beds, it
is impossible to point to very many in whom the disease can be considered to be
arrested (this is especially true of adults)
An attempt might be, made to provide open-air shelters for use in gardens
and yards of patients receiving Domiciliary treatment, although there are not many
gardens which might be of great use in this Borough
The anti-tuberculosis work in the Borough is also unsatisfactory owing to lack
or co-ordination, different bodies attempting to deal with different branches of the
work, and each working more or less independently