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
Hayes and Harlington 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]
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Child Welfare Clinics, etc.
There are numerous Maternity and Child Welfare Clinics in the
district; these are administered by the Middlesex County Council
and the services provided are available free of charge. Sessions are
held regularly in clinic buildings and certain church halls ; the mobile
clinic now visits three districts in the area which are a long way
from established clinics.
Immunisation.
Vaccination against smallpox and immunisation against
diphtheria and whooping cough are available free of charge at all
the County Council Clinics in the district, and protection against
Tetanus is also available on request. Owing to the increased number
of poliomyelitis notifications this year, immunisation was suspended
for about two months, and this resulted in an even lower rate of
protection than before. This apathy on the part of parents is
causing serious concern among Public Health workers, and it is
feared that a serious outbreak of diphtheria may arise and bring
unpleasant sequelae. Many fathers refuse vaccination to their
children on account of their own experiences in Her Majesty's
Forces. They probably do not know that the younger a child is
when vaccinated for the first time, the less liable it is to complications,
and thus by their action they are inviting trouble instead of
preventing it.
I give below details of protection carried out in this district during 1955; these figures were kindly supplied by the Area Medical Officer, Area No. 8.
| Number of children who completed a full course of primary immunisation | Number of children who received a secondary (reinforcing) injection | Persons vaccinated or or re-vaccinated | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age | Diphtheria only | Combined Diphtheria and Whooping Cough | Whooping Cough only | Diphtheria only | Combined Diphtheria and Whooping Cough | Whooping Cough only | Vaccination | Re-Vaccination |
| Under 1 | 19 | 428 | 2 | — | — | — | 445 | |
| 1 | 10 | 162 | — | — | — | — | 20 | — |
| 2—4 | 22 | 50 | 4 | 26 | 51 | 5 | 26 | 3 |
| 5—14 | 40 | 10 | 15 | 508 | 247 | — | 24 | 8 |
| 15 & over | — | — | 2 | — | — | 58 | 96 | |
| Totals | ||||||||
| 1955 | 91 | 650 | 21 | 536 | 298 | 5 | 573 | 107 |
| 1954 | 176 | 777 | 34 | 848 | 187 | 8 | 584 | 279 |
Water Supply.
The greater part of the district is supplied with water by the
Rickmansworth & Uxbridge Valley Water Co., but a small area in
the South is supplied by the South West Suburban Water Co.,
only seven houses in the district are now supplied from stand pipes.
During the year 14 samples have been taken and all have
proved of a satisfactory standard.
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