View report page

10
hospital, the process is simple and practically automatic. As soon as
the ambulance reaches the hospital the disinfecting van is despatched
for the bedding, which is conveyed to the steam disinfecting station at
the hospital. In the meantime the assistant of the Public Health
Department attends at the house and thoroughly disinfects the
premises, so that within a few hours after the removal of the ease the
room may be cleansed and used with safety. Where cases are treated
at home, however, the matter is not so simple. Although the Notification
Act requires notice to be given to the Local Authority of all
cases of notifiable disease, no provision is made for information to be
given of the recovery of the patient, and the Public Health Department
have to rely partly on the kindness of the medical man who may
be in attendance, partly on the information of friends of the patient
where no medical man is in attendance, and partly on periodical
visitation of the house at or about such time as the recovery of the
patient may be considered probable. In theory, the Sanitary
Inspectors should keep such watch upon the premises that they
should become acquainted with the date of recovery of the patient ;
but in practice such supervision is not only impossible, but would
prove utterly galling to the friends of the sufferer. From these
causes it sometimes happens that upon attending to disinfect, the
assistant finds that the patient has been up and about for a more or
less lengthy period without having had his premises and articles liable
to be infected properly disinfected Such cases, however, are few in
number, and it appears difficult to devise a scheme which will entirely
obviate them. On the other hand, there is an increasing tendency on
the part of the public to call in the aid of the Department for the
purpose of disinfecting premises which in the past have not been
officially disinfected ; and although in many cases it is questionable
whether a single disinfection is as valuable as a persistent recourse to
pail and scrubbing-brush, it is not considered advisable to refuse the
assistance when desired, even if it necessitates an increase of the