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56 beds were added to the Hospital in June, 1918, and since that date the Municipal Hospital
has dealt with Maternity cases, cases of diseases of children and adults, as well as Infectious diseases.
The year 1919 was the first full year of working under the new conditions, and during that year 1,704
cases were admitted and 249 cases seen at the special out-patient consultations held at the Hospital
by the Gynaecologist and Surgeon. While only 56 beds have been added to the Hospital, or 33 per cent,
of the original number, the work during the year 1919 has been 100 per cent, more than that of any
previous year.
The demand for hospital accommodation has been so great that it became necessary for the
Council, in March, 1920, to restrict admissions to the hospital. The need for additional hospital
accommodation in Willesden is urgent, as the tendency is for people generally to prefer hospitals for
the treatment of minor as well as more serious conditions, and the Medical Practitioner more and more
desires to have hospital accommodation for the treatment of his patients, as well as facilities for
enabling him to improve his knowledge and enhance his experience at a well-equipped and properly
appointed institution. It is gratifying to note that of the 325 children under five years of age who
were admitted to the Municipal Hospital, 51 were so admitted at the request of private medical practitioners.
It is difficult to estimate the number of beds which will be required in a community, in the near
future with the development of public opinion in the direction of hospital treatment, but it is probably
no exaggeration to say that the number of hospital beds to be provided for all conditions other than
mental diseases approximates 1 per cent, of the population, which would mean something like 1,700
for Willesden. There are in Willesden at present approximately 200 beds at the Municipal Hospital,
430 at the Infirmary, 72 beds at the Willesden Cottage Hospital, 24 beds at St. Monica's Home, and
97 beds in use by Tuberculosis cases from Willesden provided by the Middlesex County Council, or
approximately 823 beds in all for Willesden people, showing a deficiency of approximately 877 beds.
The proposal therefore before the Council to extend the Municipal Hospital by 200 beds is but a
modest measure of the present needs of Willesden for additional hospital accommodation.
Your obedient Servant,
GEORGE F. BUCHAN,
Medical Officer of Health.