London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Croydon 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Croydon]
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110
Of the cases whose records are at the Clinic, it will be seen
that of the total number that received sanatorium treatment during
the past five years only 50.1% are working or fit for work. The
remainder are dead or too ill to work. In those cases with a positive
sputum, i.e., those in whom tubercle bacilli have been found in the
sputum, only 38.8%, or just over one third, are working or fit for
work.
518, or 72.2% of the total cases discharged, were T.B. + cases;
128, or 17.8% of the total oases discharged, have removed from the
Borough, and as we have no information about their condition at
the end of 1938, they have been ignored in working out the above
percentages.
It is instructive to compare the results obtained in oases discharged from Sanatoria during the five years 1934—1938, with those for 1929—1933, and this is done in the Table below.
| Result. | Five years, 1929-1933. | Five years, 1934-1938. | 1929-1933. | 1934-1938. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T.B. - | T.B. + | T.B. - | T.B. + | |||
| Dead | 11 | 252=44.7% | 15 | 159= 37.1% | 263 | 174 |
| 36.9% | 29.5% | |||||
| Working or fit for work | 122 | 144=25.6% | 129 | 166= 38.8% | 266 | 295 |
| 37.3% | 50.1 % | |||||
| Not able to work | 17 | 167=29.6% | 17 | 103= 24.1% | 184 | 120 |
| 23.8% | 20.4% | |||||
| Left District | 32 | 93 | 38 | 90 | 125 | 128 |
| Totals | 182 | 656 | 199 | 518 | 838 | 717 |
This Table shows clearly the improved results obtained during
the last five years, 12.8% more patients are fit for work and the
number who died during the five years decreased by 7.4%. The
decreased incidence is shown in the smaller total number of cases,
and the greater relative proportion of T.B. — cases appears to
indicate a tendency for cases to come earlier for treatment.