[Report 1923] / Medical Officer of Health, Argyll County Council.

  • Argyllshire (Scotland). County Council.
Date:
1923
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1923] / Medical Officer of Health, Argyll County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    brightest, and people in the prime of life when their earning powers are at their highest, and therefore represents a great economic loss to the Country. The number of patients admitted is seven less than last year, and the smallest number admitted since 1919. Twelve were in an advanced stage of the disease, nine’ in the second stage of the disease, and only four in the early stage. I have drawn attention before to the fact of so many cases being ad- mitted in such an advanced stage of the disease that there is practically no hope of improvement. These cases are proving very costly as they require prolonged residential treatment, special food, medicines, extra fuel and light, and extra night nurses. The big mortality, owing to the admission of so many of these cases, has a detrimental effect in attracting early cases to take advantage of Sanatorium treatment, and tends to bring discredit on the Institution as a curative agent. The purpose of the Sanatorium is to treat early cases with the view of arresting the disease, and it should not be used as an isolation hospital for advanced and hopeless cases. In this connection I may quote from Sir Robert Philip’s address on “The actual position of the Tuberculosis Problem To-day” delivered by request at the Conference of The National Association for the prevention of Tuberculosis, at Birmingham, in July, 1923, in which he says—“In many places the Sana- torium has been allowed to become the dumping ground for every sort of case, the undesirable (chronic or advanced) being much in evidence. The result has been hopeless confusion, the piling up of long waiting lists, and the blocking of Sanatoriums against suitable cases until, in many instances, the suitable have perforce lapsed into the unsuitable. The Sanatorium, in place of fulfill- ing its special purpose in the campaign, namely the arrest of disease in early cases, has by reason of the hopeless method of giving every one his turn—two or three months apiece—drifted into being little more than a temporary shelter for the patching up of damaged lives. The Sanatorium must be restored to its proper purpose. The immense significance of Sanatorium treat- ment, when properly directed, is acknowledged by the great majority of those who are in a position to judge of practical results.” There being no special provision for the treatment of ad- vanced cases in the County, they are admitted to the Sanator- ium where they generally remain till they die, and this often means a residence of years, unless, as sometimes happens, their