000058

Description

A file of government correspondence relating to medical and sanitary provisions in reception areas in Northern Ireland. Subjects covered in the file include difficulties in determining parental consent for the medical treatment of unaccompanied evacuated schoolchildren. Such difficulties include uncertainty over the role of parents due to the transfer of custody to the foster parents; the need for consent for operations other than routine treatment, including dental treatments such as tooth extraction; the question of consent for hospital treatment; and the roles of householders and the authorities in providing consent. Other subjects discussed include requests relating to the sanitary issues faced by reception areas outside Belfast due to the influx of evacuees. These include requests for grants to extend the sewage and water schemes, which were rejected by the government; and requests for an increase in hospital accommodation and funding, to provide maternity care to battle diseases including tuberculosis.

Keywords

accommodation, administration, air raids, billeting, childcare, children, demographics, dentists, disease, doctors, evacuable areas, evacuation, evacuees, family, finance, foster parents, grants, healthcare, hospitals, householders, infants, law, local authorities, maternity, mothers, nurses, old age, overcrowding, parents, population density, priority classes, public health, reception areas, rural areas, sanitation, schools, sewerage, tuberculosis, unaccompanied evacuees, water supply, welfare