No. 23.-PRINTED LABELS of DIRECTIONS for use of MEDICINES by DISPENSARY PATIENTS.CIRCULAR to BOARDS of GUARDIANS. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, SIR, The Commissioners for administering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland having received inquiries as to the mode of procuring Silverlock's printed labels, referred to in the Commissioners' Circulars of 10th July, 1852, and 7th February, 1855, I am directed to state, for the information of the Boards of Guardians and Dispensary Committees generally, that when supplies of such labels are from time to time required, they should be procured in the same manner as other supplies are obtained, upon a requisition from the Medical Officer, to be forwarded by the Committee to the Board of Guardians, with a view to their giving the necessary order to the druggist or contractor from whom they obtain their supplies of medicines or other articles for dispensaries, or to any party from whom they may think fit to obtain them. CIRCULARS. It having appeared that in some districts such labels (although included in the list of requisites accompanying the Circular of 10th July, 1852,) had not been supplied to the Medical Officer of the dispensary, and that medicines were issued to patients without written or printed instructions as to the mode of using them, the Commissioners, in their Circular of the 7th ultimo, called the attention of the Dispensary Committees to the impropriety of this practice, and with a view to the greater security of the patient and the convenience of the Medical Officer, recommended that the directions for the use of the medicines prescribed should be given by means of Silverlock's printed labels, rather than by requiring the Medical Officer to write them in each instance. The Commissioners, however, do not desire to interfere with the discretion of the Guardians in selecting the contractor or persons through whom they may think fit to procure printed labels for the purpose in question, the Guardians seeing that the cost thereof does not exceed that at which they are procurable through any other channel. The Commissioners understand that printed labels, or forms of directions for patients, according to those generally in use, are prepared and sold by Messrs. I. and E. MacDonnell, of 13, Angleseastreet, Dublin, as well as by Messrs. Silverlock and Co., of 3, Wardrobe Terrace, Doctors' Commons, London; and that catalogues or descriptive lists, specifying the various forms of labels kept by them for sale, with a distinctive number for each, and with the prices, are issued by these firms. It will be necessary for the Medical Officer, in making his requisitions from time to time for the labels required, to specify the particular forms of label, and the quantity of each that he requires; and in order to enable him to do so, a copy of the catalogue should be obtained by application to the parties that may be selected by the Guardians to supply them; and the Medical Officer should either mark in the catalogue the forms he requires, and the quantity of each, or should furnish a list of the forms of label (referring to them by their distinguishing numbers in the CIRCULARS. catalogue), with the quantities required. By order of the Commissioners, W. STANLEY, Secretary. To the Clerk of the Board of Guardians of each Union. No. 24.-SUPPLY of LEECHES for use in DISPEN- Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, SIR, The Commissioners for administering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland desire to acquaint the Board of Guardians that their attention has been called to the arrangement at present existing for obtaining leeches for dispensary use, from which inconvenience occasionally arises to the sick poor, by the delay which sometimes occurs in obtaining them, owing to the distance at which contractors, in many cases, reside; and by which also loss is sometimes sustained by the union, numbers of them dying unused, owing to their perishable nature, when kept for any considerable time at the dispensaries. With a view to render leeches as efficacious as possible for dispensary use, as well as on the ground of economy, the Commissioners would recommend, for the consideration of the Board of Guardians, the propriety of contracting for the supply of leeches, whenever practicable, with some apothecary or druggist residing in the union, from whom they could be procured without much delay, and at such times as they may be required. By order of the Commissioners, To the Clerk of each Union. CIRCULARS. No. 25.-REPORT to be made in the event of DISEASE threatening to become EPIDEMIC.CIRCULAR to DISPENSARY MEDICAL OFFICERS. Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, 15th September, 1856. SIR, Adverting to the Circular addressed to Medical Officers of dispensary districts, dated 31st May, 1855, by which the Medical Officers were relieved from so much of the duties imposed upon them by the 21st Article of the Dispensary Regulations as required them to furnish monthly, to the Commissioners for administering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland, a return in the Form L, referred to therein, the Commissioners wish to observe, that as the returns exhibiting the state of disease in the dispensary districts are now made only four times in each year to them, they think it desirable to secure earlier information respecting the invasion of any dangerous contagious disease, such as small-pox, scarlatina, or typhus fever, than the present system of returns could in many instances afford. The Commissioners therefore request that in the event of the occurrence of cases of any dangerous contagious disease in your district in such numbers as to give reasonable ground to apprehend that it may become epidemic, you will address a report of the facts to them so as to enable them to call upon the Board of Guardians without delay to make such special provision as may be necessary to prevent or mitigate the evil. By order of the Commissioners, B. BANKS, Chiet Clerk. To each Medical Officer of a Dispensary District. No. 26.-ATTENDANCE on FEVER PATIENTS.- Poor Law Commission Office, Dublin, SIR,-The attention of the Commissioners for administering the Laws for Relief of the Poor in Ireland has been directed to the fact that some Medical Officers of dispensary districts, especially those recently appointed, as well as some members of Committees of Management, entertain the erroneous opinion that a Medical Officer has discharged himself of all responsibility of further attendance upon a patient suffering from fever, on whose behalf a visiting ticket has been presented to him, after he has once visited and recommended the removal of the patient to a fever hospital. In reference to this subject, the Commissioners desire to point out to you, that section 9 of the Medical Charities Act provides, that "every member of the Dispensary Committee, and every Relieving Officer and Warden acting for an Electoral Division included in such dispensary district, shall have power to afford medical relief by the issue of a ticket in such Form as the said Commissioners shall prescribe, addressed to the Medical Officer of the district, directing him to afford medicine and advice to, or attend any poor person resident therein; and it shall be the duty of the Medical Officer to afford medicine and advice, and to attend such poor person as thereby directed:" and the Dispensary Regulations require that the Medical Officer "shall duly and punctually attend upon, either at the dispensary during the appointed hours for attendance thereat, or at the home of the party on whose behalf application is made, or elsewhere, as the case may require, and supply all requisite medical or surgical advice and assistance to every poor person in the district, or division of a district under his charge," on whose behalf a ticket in the prescribed Form has been presented; and the Commissioners desire to state that a Medical Officer of a dispensary district will be held CIRCULARS. |