London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Camberwell 1961

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.

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of young people, many with no home ties, and living in
crowded conditions. Under such circumstances, male promiscuity
is always common, and the vicious circle is set
up in which prostitutes, and other promiscuous women who
become infected, infect others in their turn. It is hoped
that as the immigrants settle down and their mode of life
becomes more stable (and this can be accelerated by wise
social work) many of these factors will operate to a decreasing
extent and the venereal diseases will diminish
(Immigrant Population. Accurate information is not
yet available as to the immigrant population of the Borough.
Some indication of the position is shown in the following
figures which relate to attendances of immigrants at the
L.C.C. Child Welfare Centres in the Borough and the per
centage of immigrant patients at the local hospitals.
During one week in July, 1961, the number of children
of immigrant parents who attended child welfare centres
in Camberwell was fourteen; the figure for a similar
period in July, 1962, was one hundred and thirty.
At the local hospitals the attendances during comparable
periods during 1961 and 1962 showed that the per
centage of immigrant outpatients increased from 10.7
to 13.7. The attendances at the hospital ante natal
clinic are of particular interest - in 1961 a little over
a quarter of the patients were immigrants but a year later
this had increased to more than one-third.
Additional information relating to school attendances,
which will clarify the picture still further, is awaited.)'