[Report 1936] / Medical Officer of Health, Dundee City.

  • Dundee (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1936
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1936] / Medical Officer of Health, Dundee City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    During the first year the expenditure would be about £450, which would be reduced in subsequent years by ^125 representing non-recurring capital expenditure. The annual cost after the first year would therefore be in the neighbourhood of ^'325 plus any annual increments granted to the trainer and plus also a sum of say £20 to cover the cost of repairing and replacing instruments and appliances. Against the annual expenditure there may be a small annual in- come, impossible to estimate, from fees paid by patients. As the centre would be open to both pre-school and school children, the cost of establishing and maintaining it would be shared by the Public Health and Education Departments in the proportion of possibly 20% to the former and 80% to the latter. While an Orthoptic Training Centre in the Public Health Institute would be intended primarily for pre-school and school children, it is important that it should be open to children attending the Eye Department of the Royal Infirmary and the Eye Institu- tion, Nethergate. It is important also that the Orthoptic Centre should be open to private patients on payment of the full cost of training, provided the Orthoptic Trainer has time to take charge of these cases. Any fees received, will of course be payable to the Cor- poration and not to the Trainer, who will receive an inclusive salary. The Clinic would be in charge of the Deputy Medical Officer of Health (Pre-School and School Medical Services) and his staff. The various ophthalmic surgeons in the city would have access to it on an equal basis in the interests of their own patients. It is suggested that after consideration by the Public Health Committee, a copy of this report should be sent to the Directors of the Royal Infirmary, Directors of the Eye Institution and to each of the Ophthalmic Surgeons in special practice in the city for their observations, on receipt of which, the whole question could be referred to the Joint Sub-Committee of the Public Health Com- mittee and Education Committee. The only domiciliary medical service which falls to be per- formed by this Department is the provision of medical attendance on the out-door poor. This service was under consideration by the Public Health Committee, and a decision was reached to in- crease the number of part-time medical officers engaged in this work from five to seven. The two additional medical officers took Outdoor Medical Services.