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
Hackney 1921
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hackney]
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57
that the number of cases in receipt of this assistance is not so
large as to cause the approved expenditure to be exceeded.
The total cost to 31st December is £135 3s. 5d.
Advanced Cases.
The following table shows the place of death of Hackney inhabitants, and it is apparent from this table what a large proportion of deaths occur in the patients' homes.
| Place where death occurred. | Phthisis and Pulmonary Tuberculosis. | Other forms of Tuberculosis. | Totals. |
|---|---|---|---|
| At Patients' Homes | 97 | 14 | 1ll |
| At Hackney Infirmary | 56 | 10 | 66 |
| At other Institutions | 60 | 27 | 87 |
| 213 | 51 | 264 |
It should be remembered that the deaths which occur in
institutions cannot be considered to represent the number of persons
who were prevented while in an advanced stage from spreading
infection, as, at least the majority of these persons have been
treated on several occasions in the infirmary and similar institutions,
entering and leaving while in an infective condition, before
death occurred. The result of this is placed on record in the Final
Report of the Departmental Committee on Tuberculosis:
"Infection is frequently disseminated by persons suffering from
advanced pulmonary tuberculosis who are in the habit of entering
and leaving Poor Law Institutions, having regard merely to their
own convenience, and not to the interests of their family or of
the community in which they live."
Day Sanatorium (Open Air School) for Tuberculous Children.
The work of the Stormont House School, which was opened
by the London County Council on 8th September, 1919, is of