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
Mitcham 1944
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Mitcham]
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46
Prevention of Blindness
By an arrangement with the London County Council cases
of ophthalmia neonatorum can be treated at Whiteoaks Hospital,
Swanley Junction, Kent.
Blind children are looked after by the Surrey Voluntary
Association for the Blind.
Ophthalmia Neonatorum
During the year four cases of ophthalmia neonatorum were notified:-
| Cases Notified | Treated | Vision Unimpaired | Vision Impaired | Total Blindness | Deaths | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home | In Hospital | |||||
| 4 | 4 | nil. | 4 | nil. | nil. | nil. |
School Notifications
The school intimation notices of infectious disease are
always compared with the notifications received from the medical
practitioners. If any case on the school return is found to be
unnotified, investigations are made in order to find out if the
patient is receiving medical attention.
The school notices also give fairly accurate estimate of the
prevalence of non-notifiable infectious disease, such as chicken
pox, mumps, etc. The numbers so notified were as follows:—
Chicken pox 75
Mumps 52
Impetigo 3
Jaundice 3
Rubella 115
Ringworm 1
Cancer.
The number of deaths from cancer registered during the year
was 83, of which 41 were males and 42 were females.
Cancer is mainly a disease of the digestive system, with the
exception of its preference for the generative system in females.
The site distribution for 1944 was as follows: —
Digestive organs 17 cases
Genito-urinary organs 3 „