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Sanitary Administration of the District. 35
done in the Washington-Lyon disinfector, and all the refuse, etc., of
the Hospital is consumed in the Incinerator there.
In addition to the Small-pox ambulance, another ambulance is
provided for the removal of the other infectious diseases, and two
bedding carts are provided, one for the removal of infected articles,
the other for the delivery of the disinfected articles.
The procedure for the removal of cases to hospital is such as
will minimise delay and make smooth working On receipt of
the notification, information is supplied by telephone to the hospital
and to the Council's depot that a horse is required. A nurse and
the porter always accompanying the ambulance, the porter seals the
infected room till the arrival of the Inspector.
After office hours and on Sundays, the doctors notify by
telephone all cases needing removal, so that there is no possible
chance of delay or misunderstanding,
Immediately on admission to hospital, all cases are seen by the
Medical Superintendent, and are treated on the case-isolation
system, so successfully carried on by Dr. Crookshank, the objects
of this method being to minimise the risks of complications, crossinfection,
and return cases. Scarlet fever patients are only
discharged when free from desquamation, and when no sores or
discharges are present. All diphtheria cases are submitted to
bacteriological tests before being discharged. Enteric fever cases
are treated by careful nursing and dieting, there being no disease
in which efficient nursing is so important.
During the year no deaths occurred from scarlet fever, the
cases being of a mild type. One death occurred from diphtheria,
and that was in a laryngeal case which had been ill for about ten
days before admission. The experience gained in infectious diseases
work leads one to believe that "every sore throat, especially in
children, should be treated as infectious until the contrary is proved."