View report page

14
ERYSIPELAS.
Careful enquiry was made in all cases in young children
and all were found to be idiopathic in character. Two deaths
resulted.
PEMPHIGUS.
One fatal case occurred in a newly-born child. The Midwife
was excluded from practice for 14 days.
PUERPERAL FEVER.
Two cases were notified, both fatal. One case was in
the practice of a Midwife who has now had her name removed
from the Roll of Midwives. She did not wash her patient after
the birth of the child and did not visit the patient again for
sixteen hours. When the patient became seriously ill she
ceased attendance, suggesting that a doctor should be sent
for, but she did not herself send for medical aid, neither did she
notify the case to me. The coroner's jury censured her for
neglect.
RINGWORM AND INFECTIOUS IMPETIGO
AND ITCH.
228 children were reported to me with these complaints.
If thirty absences are allowed for each of these cases, and
many of them are away from school for months at a time,
6,840 school attendances have been lost. With the greatest
care it would be impossible to avoid a few cases, but I think
the greater part of these absences might be avoided if proper
care were taken of the cases. Working mothers have not the
time to attend to these cases properly, but if a nurse could see
each case two or three times a week and keep the hair cut
and the head clean, the cases would get well much quicker.
About three hours daily would be sufficient time for the nurse
to give, including a visit to the schools to help the teachers
in finding out cases in the early stages, so that it would be
only necessary to engage a nurse for a part of her time. This
should not run into any great expense, probably much less
than the loss on the school attendances.
Since the attendances have been more closely looked after
the number of cases of Itch has increased. I imagine the
dirtier children have been brought into the schools. This
disease is highly infectious and if not treated in its early stage