HC Deb 21 July 1884 vol 290 cc1732-5
MR. GRAY

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as President of the Local Government Board, Whether he is aware that, under the Public Health Act, should a visitation of cholera occur in Dublin, it is uncertain whether the duty of taking extraordinary precautions will be vested in the Corporation or in the Boards of Guardians; whether he is aware that, under the Act of last Session, the Local Government Board is given power to decide this question; whether he is aware that, until such a decision is made, no adequate precautions can be taken by either sanitary authority; and, whe- ther, in view of the fact that adequate precautions, in the way of extraordinary measures for the abatement of nuisances, for the provision of extra hospital accommodation, and for thorough and effective scavenging, whitewashing, &c. must necessarily take a long period to carry out when, as in Dublin, thousands of tenement houses have to be dealt with, he can hold out any hope that the Irish Local Government Board will take action at a time when action may be really effective?

MR. TREVELYAN

The Local Government Board are in communication with the Corporation of Dublin in regard to measures to be taken should a visitation of cholera occur in Dublin, and unless the Corporation make any well-founded objections they are willing to empower that body to carry into execution any regulations which may be made under the 149th section of the Public Health Act for the prevention of the spread of infectious disease in Dublin. On hearing from the Corporation, the Local Government Board will furnish them with a copy of a draft order which has been prepared, and which will show them the duties which will be imposed on them in the event of the 149th section being put in force. The first point to be aimed at is, however, to prevent the introduction of cholera into the country. With that view careful orders were framed last year, and with the concurrence of the Admiralty and the Commissioners of Customs, the duty was imposed on the Coastguard and Customs officers to inspect, and, if necessary, detain ships arriving in which there had been any disease. These orders are still in force, and the Admiralty and Commissioners of Customs have been urged by the Irish Government to impress upon their officers the necessity at the present time for the exercise of great caution in carrying out the duties imposed on them by this order. A copy of the order was sent last week to each Port Sanitary Authority, with a circular calling their attention to its provisions, and requesting that the medical officers of health appointed under it should have their attention again directed to their duties. As regards Dublin, the Local Government Board Inspector reports that the medical officers have been put on the alert, that the Coastguards and Customs have been communicated with by the Sanitary Authority, and that the floating intercepting hospital is ready and fully equipped with every requirement, and may be occupied at any moment in the event of a case of cholera coming into harbour. As regards portable hospitals, the Local Government Board have invited plans and estimates from a large firm in Dublin, and are making inquiries as to the cost and other particulars respecting the portable hospitals kept in stock by a London firm.

MR. GRAY

When was the Corporation communicated with?

MR. TREVELYAN

On Saturday. The Port Sanitary Authority was communicated with on Thursday.

MR. GRAY

asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, as President of the Local Government Board, Whether his attention has been drawn to the recent report on the threatened outbreak of cholera, in which the College of Physicians in Ireland state, inter alia, that— The College are of opinion that the existing Port Hospital Ship, except as a temporary measure, is an inadequate and unsuitable provision against a possible invasion of cholera through the Port. They think that an isolated intercepting hospital, containing at least twenty beds, should be prepared within a convenient distance of the river, to which patients suffering from suspicious diarrhæa, cholerine (cholera nostras), or cholera, on board vessels arriving in the Port, should be instantly removed. Abundant air space, free ventilation, an efficient system of warming, and sanitary appliances of the most approved kind, should be provided in the intercepting hospital. These measures have proved successful elsewhere; whether he is aware that, 1883, the Corporation of Dublin, being advised by the highest medical authorities, desired to erect an hospital hut in a convenient situation on the Pigeon House Road, at the entrance to the Port of Dublin, and that a site for that purpose was granted by the Earl of Pembroke; whether he is aware that the Military authorities resisted this proposal, notwithstanding the declaration of the Medical Officer of Health, the Medical Officer of the North Dublin Union, the Medical Officer of the City Prisons, the City Analyst, and the authorities of the Local Government Board, that no danger would be incurred by the erection of the hut in the place in question; whether, in view of a probable visitation of cholera, he, as President of the Local Government Board, is satisfied to permit the Military authorities to interfere with the provision by the responsible sanitary authorities of the city of adequate safeguards against the importation of cholera into the Metropolis of Ireland; and, what action he intends to take in the matter?

MR. TREVELYAN

I am aware of the views expressed in a Memorandum prepared last year by the College of Physicians in Ireland in respect to hospital accommodation, and which, I believe, they have repeated within the last few days. The difficulty as to a site for a proposed hospital at the entrance to the Port of Dublin occurred 11 years ago. The Correspondence is already before the House, having been published in full in the Report of the Local Government Board in 1874. The difficulty in procuring a site under such circumstances within the district of a Sanitary Authority, should they recur, will be met by the Cholera Hospitals Bill now before the House in the event of its becoming law.