HH62/1/KIRKCU/37

Transcription

[Page] 36

II. - INQUIRIES DURING THE YEAR.
There has been no matter demanding any general inquiry over the
whole district, but I have made a beginning with the question of village
housing and health generally.
My special inquiries have been directed more or less by the
necessities of infectious cases. I have made special inquiries at the
following places:- Crocketford, regarding typhus fever, diphtheria,
several nuisances, and general drainage; at Southerness, Carsethorn,
Kirkbean, Mainsriddle, and certain farms in the same region, all regard-
ing water. Carsethorn has been made into a special water supply
district. At Newabbey village I have investigated certain houses, and
this whole village will form the subject of a special report. I have
investigated regarding typhoid fever at the Scar, Irongray; regarding
complaint of dampness and unhealthy proximity to a churchyard at
Terregles Schoolhouse; regarding nuisances, structural, and other, at
Cargen Bridge; regarding scarlet fever at Barnbarroch village and
Barclosh farm; and regarding diphtheria at certain farms in the
neighbourhood of Dalbeattie. These inquiries have followed no organised
programme such as I wish to lay down for the coming year: they were
dictated by the necessities of the time. Had my office been in full
working order I should have had to report the analysis of several waters.
This, along with the life in villages, will constitute one of my general
inquiries during the coming year. And in regard to this, I may here
report that a grant of £60 has been made to the Public Health Office of
the combined counties with a view to my carrying out such work.

III AND IV.
Under these heads I have nothing special to report, beyond
certificates granted in connection with two groups of nuisances and
in connection with the disinfection of premises. No proceedings have
been taken in regard to bakehouses.

V. - HOSPITAL SUPERVISION.
The Eastern District, like the other three districts of the county,
has arranged with the managers of the Dumfries Royal Infirmary to
send to the Infirmary infectious cases at reduced rates. This hospital I
visited officially in September - first, in order to gain a general notion of
its adequacy according to the minute of agreement put in my hands by
the District Clerk; second, in order to arrange with the managers
anent the washing and disinfection of clothing of patients that live in
the district, but that have not been sent to the hospital.

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First. Adequacy of Hospital. - The Infirmary places at the disposal
of the District sixteen beds for infectious cases. This is a minimum.
I was given to understand that in great urgency 25 to 30 beds could be
provided, and in case of a small-pox outbreak special accommodation
would be extemporised. The wards through which I was taken were
not constructed on the most modern principles of fever hospital
construction; for obviously they were simply a well removed part of
the Infirmary buildings. I did not take exact measurements of the
cubic capacity, not considering the same necessary. For the patients
then in the wards the cubic capacity was ample; it is equally clear that
if 16 or 20 fever patients had to be accommodated, the cubic capacity
per head would fall short of modern requirements. For the Eastern
District, however, so far as numbers go, this hospital might be regarded
as sufficient. But when to the Eastern District the other three Districts
of the Stewartry, all the Districts of Dumfries, and the town of Dumfries
itself, are added, any one may foresee that in the event of serious out-
break (say of typhus or severe scarlet fever) sixteen or even 30 beds
are totally inadequate. Add to this the distances that patients must be
driven - 14 miles from Carsethorn, farther from Rockliff, farther again
from certain parts in the north, and no farther argument is needed to
demonstrate the inadequacy of the hospital accommodation for the
district. At the same time, for the parishes within easy distance of
Dumfries I consider this hospital suitable. The amount of severe
infectious disease in the district is not great, and if the western part of
the District could be provided with a hospital to serve conjointly for
Dalbeattie and neighbourhood, the District might be considered well
protected.
On these grounds I would suggest that this whole question should
be remitted to a sub-committee for full inquiry and report.
Second. The managers of the Infirmary agreed to disinfect and
wash any clothing sent to them for that purpose, and accompanied by a
certificate from the Public Health officials; the washing to be done at
the expense of the private individuals. The District Committee has
empowered the Public Health and Sanitary Offices to procure proper
boxes for transmission of such infected clothing. So far this arrange-
ment has worked well, and will be sustained until further arrangements
can be made for proper centres of disinfection in the various districts.
The difficulty of finding suitable persons to undertake such work has
been hitherto insurmountable. In one instance, where a case of typhoid
and one case of probable typhus had occurred, no one could be found
for months, and that even after all the rooms had been fumigated and
lime-washed and all clothing steeped in disinfectants. This case may