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8
of scarlet fever, It happened, therefore, that some
cases were admitted to the scarlet fever wards and a
few days afterwards were taken with the illness in
very severe form. It is frequently impossible to be
certain of the diagnosis, and once in the ward the
patient has had to remain. What I wish to point out
is the necessity of keeping the isolation block for
isolation purposes, and that at present I am unable to
do. Soon after the vacation I was obliged to report to
the Committee the great difficulty that had arisen in
regard to both scarlet fever and diphtheria, and on a
special report from the Committee, it was at once
decided by the Council to furnish the house of
Stonebridge Farm, at that time unoccupied, for the
reception of diphtheria, and to build another temporary
iron building for scarlet fever. The necessary alterations
and the furnishing of the Farm were completed
in a week, and the first patient was admitted on
November 3rd. The preparing of the ground and
erecting of the iron building took nearly a month.
With this increase of room there were 98 cases under
treatment at one time, 72 of them being scarlet fever.
After my report, the Surveyor was requested to prepare
preliminary plans for the permanent enlargement
of the Hospital, and the subject was under consideration
at the end of the year.
Although there has been a larger number of
cases admitted, the great increase has been due to
diphtheria. The proportion of casts to the population
has increased, but not so much as might be