§ MR. SLOAN (Belfast, S.)To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether he is aware that cases of blood-poisoning occurred in the Cootehill Union Infirmary in January, 1904, alleged by the medical officer and inspector to be due to rotten floors and want of sanitary accommodation; and whether, seeing that an appeal has been made on behalf of the seven electoral divisions in the county for the necessary alterations to be made, and that Dr. Biggar was deputed by the Local Government Board to confer with the board of guardians, he can say what action, if any, has been taken in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) Cases of septicæmia occurred in this workhouse in January, 1904. The medical officer was of opinion that the germs of the disease were in the floors and possibly in the walls. The Local Government Board's inspector inquired into the matter, and reported that it was difficult to find the direct and definite cause of the outbreak as there are several ways in which infection of the kind could be conveyed. He advised the guardians to make certain alterations, and thereupon they decided 745 to obtain an estimate of the cost. No further action has, however, been taken by the guardians, but the new board will come into office next month, and the Local Government Board will urge them to take the matter in hand.