Letters to The Times on small-pox encampments : and a word on the Contagious Diseases Acts / by T. Atchison.

  • Atchison, Thomas, 1823-1874.
Date:
1871
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Letters to The Times on small-pox encampments : and a word on the Contagious Diseases Acts / by T. Atchison. 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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    2] fourth of the expense we are now incurring for temporary hos- pitals. He adds : And as regards an encampment, be it com- posed of tents, huts, sheds, steamer, blockship, they could easily be furnished to suit the necessities of the case, be they for the needy, the middle-class, or the opulent. They would form a summer Wimbledon or a winter Aldershot (in miniature) outside our cities and towns, and protect our population. They would be under proper discipline, and in charge of experienced officers, subordinates, and nurses; with a well regulated ambulance as the main channel of communication ; and be a mighty saving in health and pocket to the metropolis. What I contend for is the urgency, the practicability, and the certainty of success. Lancet, Saturday, March 18th, 1871, No. 11, p. 391. Surgeon-Major Atchison proposes to mark out the commons and waste lands nearest the suburbs attacked by small-pox, to erect a few tents or huts, and cany to them every variolous case of whatever kind, description, or class, without favour or dis- tinction. He discountenances brick or walled enclosures, such as are now accumulating on every side, intensifying the poison, and permanently damaging the districts in which they are placed. We have already advocated this plan for the treatment of convalescents, and the relief of the local hospitals. But we fear the danger of removing patients to any considerable distance at the acute stage of the disease will alwa}7s prove an insuperable objection to country and suburban hospitals. Lancet, p. 394, March 18th, 1871. We venture again to inquire how it is that the Dreadnought has not been utilised, and why the proposal to erect field hos- pitals has not been entertained ? It was stated that the military authorities would be happy to erect military tents at Battersea, and that they could do this at one-third the expense of perma- nent or temporary structures of wood or iron. The idea pro- mulgated by Surgeon-Major Atchison, of forming a small-pox encampment, is worthy of serious attention ; for even if it were not thought possible to take out every case of small-pox, yet it cannot be denied that the convalescent might be removed to such encampments with advantage to the patients, and with great relief to the existing hospitals. British Medical Journal, Saturday, March 25th, 1871, p. 327. We are glad to learn that Surgeon-Major Atchison's plans for srnall-pox encampments have been well received by mu- nicipal bodies, and that the principle is being carried into effect in many of the towns of England. A somewhat similar plan has been proposed for Liverpool by n surgeon of that town.