[Report 1912] / Medical Officer of Health, Ashborne U.D.C.

  • Ashbourne (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1912] / Medical Officer of Health, Ashborne U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    11 nurses—Nurse Rogers nnd Nurse fJebh, from Stoke- on-Trent Nursing Institution—three ward maids, and a man for outside work. The whole of the commissariat of the Institution was undertaken hv the nurses and managed most eHieieiitlv aud economicnllv. All water O ^ had to he carted up from Ashhorne, 1^ miles distant, as there was no supply avaihihle near at hand. Pail closets were installed, and the refuse was hurled every day. Considering the dilliculty of providing for such a large number at such short notice, and the primitive nature of the original accommodation that was available, everything went on very smoothly; this was in great measure due to the efforts of the Clerk and the Surveyor to vour Council, and inv tjrateful thanks are due to them both for the ex(;ellent wav in which thev carried out, with much trouble and at considerable labour, the task of getting the hospital into working order, and of keeping it going so efficiently for so many months. The children themselves had a most enjoyable time and returned home not only free from infection, but most wonderfully improved in general health. Between three and four thousand swabs were taken aud examined, and my chief regret is that 1 was unable to make sure of a more perfect result by getting swabs from those members of infected households who were not attending the Elementary Schools, more especially the children under school age, and those who had left and were going out to work. In many cases they were examined, but it was impossible for obvious reasons to make sure of examining everyone, with the result that a (‘ertain number of carriers are, I am afraid, still at large, proving a source of danger and a cause of occasional cases of Diphtheria. The task was a long, arduous and ex- ])ensive one, but unless it had been undertaken, there is no doubt that a most serious outbreak of Diphtheria with its toll of deaths would have resulted.