Cover image for Tuberculosis Division
Agency:
Tuberculosis Division
Agency Number:
Start Date:
01 Aug 1945
End Date:
31 Dec 1976
Description:
The decision to establish a State-wide campaign to eradicate tuberculosis (consumption), in conjunction with the Commonwealth and the other States, was taken in 1944. A 35mm X-ray camera was purchased and a preliminary survey undertaken (of the staff of Australian Pulp and Paper Mills, Burnie) in April 1945. Negotiations were also undertaken with the Tasmanian Sanatorium Association (see NS1292) about the management of their institution. The Tuberculosis Division of the Public Health Department was formally established with the appointment of the Director, Dr T Goddard, on 1 August. The Tasmanian Sanatorium was acquired on the same date. As with many earlier public health campaigns the Tasmanian Parliament was less than enthusiastic. The Tuberculosis Act which provided for compulsory testing was not passed until 1949 and even then had a sunset clause of 30 June 1950. Although testing was compulsory the Act specifically excluded any power to compel an individual suffering from TB to be treated. It was only with the Commonwealth-State agreement to fund testing and treatment that Tasmania legislated to extend the campaign to 1958 (then 1963, after which the sunset clause was removed from a revised Act). Using static cameras in Hobart and Launceston and 2 mobile cameras to visit country areas the campaign aimed to test every adult every 2 (later 3) years. The use of miniature X-rays simplified the mobile testing service and helped to contain costs. However they lacked precision (partly overcome by converting from 35mm to 70mm format) and some people called in for standard X-rays proved to have been suffering from influenza (for example). Despite its drawbacks the system proved effective in identifying cases of TB and as better treatments became available the disease became rarer in the Tasmanian population.;;The Tasmanian Sanatorium was re-named the Tasmanian Chest Hospital in 1950 to reflect the change from essentially passive management of the disease to active treatment as chemotherapies improved. A sanatorium at Perth was acquired and re-named the Northern Chest Hospital in 1950. Chest clinics were established at Hobart, Launceston and Devonport in 1954. The success of the campaign to eradicate TB was quite dramatic. By 1963 most of the staff in the chest hospitals were employed on a temporary basis and in 1968 the Northern Chest Hospital closed. Staff numbers at the Tasmanian Chest Hospital were dwindling in line with patient numbers and in 1974 a single ward was incorporated into St Johns Park Hospital. The last mass X-rays were performed in Hobart and Launceston in September 1976 and the service ceased operation on 31 December. The cameras were placed in hospitals and the TB registry was maintained by staff of the Technical Division of the Health Services Department.~
Legislation Administered:
Tuberculosis Act 1949 (Lapsed 1963)~Tuberculosis (Campaign Arrangements) Act 1950 (Lapsed 1963)~Tuberculosis Act 1958 (Lapsed 1963)~Tuberculosis Act 1963
Legislation Creating:
Administrative action.
Functions Performed:
Health care
Controlling Agencies:
Department of Public Health (TA19)06 Jan 190401 Aug 1956

Department of Health Services (TA23)01 Aug 195617 Jul 1989
Tasmanian Sanatoria After-Care Association (NG1292)01 Jan 190531 Dec 1971

New Town Infirmary and Consumptive Home (TA889)01 Jan 191231 Dec 1934

Evandale Hospital (TA2187)01 Jan 194731 Dec 1979
Subsequent Agencies:
Technical Division (TA752)01 Jan 195831 Dec 1984