[Report 1912] / Medical Officer of Health, Berwick County Council.

  • Berwickshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1912] / Medical Officer of Health, Berwick County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    19/64 page 17
    For a similar reason, in many cases of uncertainty the settle- ment of the diagnosis of suspected enteric fever is a matter of almost supreme importance, as it leads to stringent precautions to obviate the risk of others contracting the infection. An instance of that was seen in the last week of the year 1912 and the first week of 1913. A boy was notified on the last day of 1912 as suffering from enteric fever. Attention was directed to his mother, who appeared unwell, and afterwards to various members of the family. As a result, specimens of blood were taken and sent to the laboratory, where examination proved four others to have the disease. The arrangements sanctioned by the Local Authorities included, for medical practitioners, the examination of diph- theria swabs for diphtheria bacilli, Widal’s Test for suspected enteric fever and the examination of sputum for tubercle bacilli. In addition a general discretionary power was given to myself to cover other bacteriological examinations not included in the preceding list. Arrangements were made with the Research Laboratory of the Royal College of Physicians. As that Laboratory was already making examinations for various practitioners in the County and for other authorities, and as every examination made would have to be debited for payment to the district or burgh in which the patient resided, some difficulty was experienced in planning a scheme that in practice would work without difficulty. Dr. Ritchie, the Superintendent of the Laboratory, pointed out that difficulties arose in working a County Bcheme, in that it was sometimes difficult to distinguish between material sent in from private patients and that sent under the Public Health administration of the County, and I might have added that where specimens to be paid by the County were sent it was also difficult to make out to what authority in the County the examination should be charged. It was ultimately arranged that the forms to be sent in with the specimens should include the name of the patient, the address, and also the parish of residence. If the examinations were to be at County expense, these particulars had to be Idled up by the doctor, otherwise the fee would be charged to the doctor’s private account.
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