Minutes of evidence of the departmental committee appointed to inquire and report whether the following diseases can properly by added to those enumerated in the third schedule of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906 : namely: (1) cowpox, (2) Dupuytren's Contraction, (3) Clonic spasm of the eyelids, apart from nystagmus, (4) writers' cramp.

  • Great Britain. Departmental Committee on Compensation for Industrial Diseases
Date:
1913
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Minutes of evidence of the departmental committee appointed to inquire and report whether the following diseases can properly by added to those enumerated in the third schedule of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1906 : namely: (1) cowpox, (2) Dupuytren's Contraction, (3) Clonic spasm of the eyelids, apart from nystagmus, (4) writers' cramp. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    MINUTES EVIDENCE. Sir THomas CiLirrorp ALLBUTT, K.C.B. His Honour Jupcr Rueae, K.C. Dr. Tuomas Morrison LEGGE. Mr. ArtHuR Locke (Secretary). 1. Will you please inform us of your qualifications ? —Bachelor of Medicine of Oxford, and one of His Majesty's Medical Inspectors of Factories. 2. For how long have you been on the Home Office staff P—For nearly four and a half years. 3. What has been the district that you have prin- cipally gone over?—The two medical inspectors have to travel over the whole of the United Kingdom. 4, You were asked to make a report on this special disease, were you not ?—Yes, in consequence of an application made by Mr. Wardle, the secretary of the Amalgamated Society of Operative Lace Makers, who have their head-quarters at Nottingham. He noticed that a number of his members when coming for invalidity payments, in taking their money, took it with hands that were contracted, and he himself having one of his own hands slightly affected, became interested in the subject, and made investigation, during which he collected particulars of 48 cases, which he set out in a table which has been placed at our disposal. He then made an application that this disease, when it affects lace workers, should be placed in the third schedule of the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1906. 6. That was the beginning of the inquiry, was it ? —That was the commencement of the inquiry. My colleague, Mr. Robert Eatock, who is His Majesty’s Inspector of Factories at Nottingham, and myself, made the inquiry together. He was associated with me in the inquiry, because, as you are aware, the industry of lace-making is chiefly carried on in Notting- ham and the surrounding district. 6. Then you conducted this inquiry jointly, did you?—Yes, we did. We visited together the factories, I taking the medical aspect of the disease, while Mr. Eatock investigated it from the mechanical side. For instance, he took the pulls on all the machines and the shape of the handles, while I was examining the conditions of the hands of the men. 7. You had two principal objects to ascertain : first of all, whether this disease was more pre- valent amongst lace workers than other workers; and secondly, whether there were immediate steps to be taken ?—Yes, those were the two objects we kept before us. 8. Then you and Mr. Hatock made a joint report ? —Yes. u (615180 9. And that has been submitted to the Chief Inspector of Factories, sent to the Secretary of State, and it has been circulated, has it ?—I believe it is now being circulated both to the masters and to the operatives. 10. This is the report that you prepared which we have before us P—Yes. 11. This really contains the result of your in- quiries P—It does. 12. It can usefully be added to the appendix as an account of this inquiry ?—Yes, it might. 13. Is there anything else you would lke to tell us beyond what appears in this report ?—I think some of the points might be represented from a slightly different aspect, which may help to make them more clear. 14, First of all a general description of the con- dition ; that is the first point >—Yes, a more general description of the condition than is given in the report may be useful. Dupuytren’s contraction is primarily due to the formation in the palm of the hand of fibrous tissue; this fibrous tissue is similar to the tissue which forms in a cicatrix or scar caused by a burn or other external injury, and possesses the peculiarity that after its formation it draws or contracts. In Dupuytren’s contraction fibrous tissue forms immediately beneath the true skin of the palm of the hand, and extends along the line of the tendons or guides which, by contraction of the forearm muscles, draw down or flex the fingers. When at a later stage this fibrous tissue contracts, it draws down or flexes the fingers, and this flexion remains, because fibrous contraction is permanent, and not, like muscular con- traction, a temporary condition. That may put it in rather more popular language than that of the report. 15. Will you tell us how many people you examined ?—1,360 operatives at work employed in various processes in the lace trade were examined, and among these 90 cases of the condition in various stages were seen. [It is a coincidence that there were 90 hospital cases also.] The distribution of these 90 cases _ is shown in Table I., whilst 35 other cases were brought to our attention by Mr. Wardle. Mr. Wardle had prepared a list of 48 cases, but 13 of those were seen by us in the factories, and the remaining 35 were seen by us when Mr. Wardle got them together for me to examine, A