"Several years ago, in Edinburgh, ten patients had their appendices removed before their illnesses were correctly diagnesed as paratyphoid," Dr. Sharp, a senior medical officer of the City Health Department, reported t> the 13th April meeting ef Edinburgh Trades Council. Dr. Sharp had been asked to address the Trades Council on health following last year's outbreak of Typhoid in Aberdeen. In the course of his address, several significant points were raise¢, that obviously concerned the 150 delegates present.
In contrast to workers in England and Wales, who are kept from work under erders from the Health Department following outbreaks of epidemics and compensated for loss of earnings, Scottish workers are not covered in this way at all. This naturally does not lend itself to co-operation in controlling diseases and is a serious disability that must be remedied by Government action. Edinburgh, which is used as a training schosl for Sanitary Inspectors, continually had a staffing problem until recently, due to the lower wage rates paid in Scotland compared with south ~f the border, This obviously left gaps in the city's health work. Dr. Sharp felt that much would be done to eliminate T.B. in the community, if schemes would be operated similar to that agreed to by the City Transport Department, which guargntees sickness pay to any of its drivers or conductors, who contract T.B. and are held off work. Regular check-ups are thereby rendered possible pr workers, who do not need to fear any financial difficulties. Similar schemes sperate in Corporation schools.
Much work remains to be done to make employers introduce such sick pay guarantees and the Trade Unions could play an inportant part in the battle against T.B. and other diseases. There is more than casual connections between good housing, nutritious food, healthy working conditions and good health.