Tuberculosis (International Congress of 1908) : copy of report / of Arthur Newsholme, J. Patten MacDougall, and T.J. Stafford ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Majesty.

  • Newsholme, Arthur, 1857-1943.
Date:
1909
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Tuberculosis (International Congress of 1908) : copy of report / of Arthur Newsholme, J. Patten MacDougall, and T.J. Stafford ; presented to both Houses of Parliament by command of His Majesty. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    payment of rent and general charitable relief ia given out of special funds administered by the dispensary nurse or, as is more frequently the case, tlu’ough alread)’’ existing benevolent organisations. Hospital and sanatorium care is secured for those avIio need such treatment. The ruling principle of these dispensaries, as pointed out by Dr. Miller, the President of the Association of Tuberculosis Clinics, is that tuberculous patients “ everywhere receive “ treatment based as much upon the social environment as “ upon the physical condition of each case. The study of these “ two factors in their relation to each otiier is the distin- “ guishiiig feature of special tuberculosis clinics.” Thus (organised social science is brought to the aid of medicine. 'Phe reports upon the social conditions of tlie patients are furnished b}'' the Charity Organisation Society investigators and l)y visiting nurses ; and by their aid it has usually been ^^ossible to delimitate ” the disputed territory of charity and therapeutics ” in regard to tlie distribution of milk and eggs from the clinics. Tlie plan of co-operation is completed by daily communica- tion with the Public Health Department. Each dispensary keeps a record of all cases treated and of all “delinquent” cases in a book provided by the Health Department. The new cases coming for treatment to the dispensary are reported by telephone every clinic day to the Health Department, and tlie latter has an arrangement with the dispensary in virtue of which visits and reports by the dispensary nurses are I'egarded as satisfactory substitutes for visits by the inspectors and nurses of the Health Department. This plan is rendered practicable by the refusal to treat dispensary patients except in their own district. “ Delinquent ” cases are those not i-eturning to their proper dispensary for a ' period of one month except while resident in a hospital or sanatorium, or while out of town. Such patients then are visited by the inspector or- nurse of the Health Department. Jt is impracticable to give here the full details of the organisation in New York, and an account of a complete organisation for the control of tuberculosis would occupy still more space. rVctive co-operation between the dispensaries and hospitals and sanatoria is sought, and to a large extent obtained, and additional agencies are being arranged to meet the r(‘quire- ments of those who cannot or will not attend the dispensaries. Relation.^]lip between Dispensaries, Sanatoria, and Hospitals for Advanced Cases. The question of the relationship between dispeiisai-ies, sanatoria, and hospitals lor advanced cases iii the prevention of tuberculosis was much discrrssed, and considerable advance has been made in our practical knowledge on this subject Dr. Philip gave an account of his work at Edinburgh in the