CO129-629-10 Tuberculosis 1-7-1950 - 31-10-1951 — Page 16

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and Health Services who is President of the Association and also an ex-officio member of the Ruttonjee Sanatorium management board,

Record and filing system

There is no central record and filing system for tuberculosis cases, Notifications are received and filed by the Health Section of the Government Medical Service; this is in no sense of the word a live tuberculosis register, but notifications of pulmonary tuber- culosis when made are passed to the Tuberculosis Service for action which includes normally a home visit by a Tuberculosis Visitor at which, if not already under treatment, the patient is encouraged to attend one of the Government Tuberculosis clinics, and examination of contacts is arranged. At the clinics is maintained a case card for every patient who attends the clinic each card being kept for a minimm period of 4 years, Cards are filed numerically as, dus to the similarity of Chinese names, to the lack of permanent addresses, to the ignorance of exact dates of birth, and to the size of the

Case records are renumbered problem, no other system is practicable. anmally and the full records including X-rays, laboratory tests etc. are carried forward into the new year. Should a patient cease to attend the clinic his card remains filed under reference of his last year of attendance until 4 years have elapsed, after which the record is destroyed. The numbers who failed to reattend following diagnosis and are untraceable either because of false name and adiress or to indefinite addresses are considerable. For the same reason correlation between death returns and clinic records is possible only to a very limited extent,

The total number of cases on the files at the time of observation

31st (i, e, patients who have attended during the period 1st January - May, 1951) are as follows ¡-

Attended for the first time, 1951

Attended 1951 and in a previous year.

11,009 3,769

Admissions of pulmonary tuberculosis cases to Goverment Hospitals and Ruttonjes Sanatorium are dealt with by the Government Tuberculosis Almoners. Ruttonjee Sanatorium operate their own follow-up clinic, Hospital records of patients in Goverment Hospitals are returned to the clinio, attached to the patient's clinic record and dealt with as indicated above,

A social case card is made out for every case of pulmonary tuberculosis who attends the public clinics on first diagnosis, These records are used for the direction of contact examinations and for social work,

The record system is used to direct public health supervision of cases, to provide statistical information based on the British system of classification (Ministry of Health Memo 37/T Revised) and to give information on the present status of the patient.

There is no advisory body constituted to guide the Goverment on Tuberculosis Control.

New Legislation

Legislation is in process of preparation aimed at cutting down

It is intended that the spread of tuberculosis by school teachers, all registered school teachers will have an annual medical examination including X-ray of chest before being permitted to teach,