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
Hampstead 1925
Report for the year 1925 of the Medical Officer of Health
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102
19 of the cases notified died during the year.
9 cases occurred in domestic servants.
During the year 36 X-ray examinations have been made, and the
results attain the same high standard for which I expressed my
appreciation last year.
The Northwood beds have been fully occupied during the year,
one patient being kept for over a year.
I have visited the New End Hospital frequently during the year,
and have to thank Dr. Reade for his courtesy and help in respect of the
tuberculosis patients in that Institution.
Housing troubles in Hampstead do not diminish. I have been
successful in persuading a number of families to move to the country;
but for those who cannot move on account of their work the position is
often very bad. I know of one family of four tuberculous persons who
have no home at all, and have to share one room in a relative's house.
Many are cramped for space, and are living in closer contact than they
should be, and are unable to get additional rooms.
There is, however, one more cheerful spot, which may be an index
that conditions are slowly improving, and that is the progressive
diminution in non-pulmonary cases, 55—34—36—25 and this year 14.
Many non-pulmonary cases, such as meningitis, bone tuberculosis and
glands are directly traceable to open infectious cases in the home.
They are more easily diagnosable than pulmonary tuberculosis, and
probably represent a true figure; therefore, as the pulmonary notifications
remain about the same, we may assume that environmental and
prophylactic measures have done something to cause the reduction.
| Number of | Under observation at the Dispensary on Jan. 1st pending diagnosis. | Examined for the first time during the year. | Total. | Suffering from Tuberculosis. | Not suffering from Tuberculosis. | Under observation at the Dispensary on Dec. 31st pending diagnosis. | Ceased attendance before completion of diagnosis. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary. | Non-Pulmonary. | ||||||||||||
| (a) All persons (including "Contacts.") | Adults | M. | 2 | 65 | 67 | 28 | 1 | 38 | _ | ¯ | |||
| F. | 3 | 126 | 129 | 40 | 5 | 81 | 2 | 1 | |||||
| Children under 15 | M | 2 | 53 | 55 | — | 3 | 49 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| F. | 4 | 55 | 59 | 4 | 2 | 46 | 6 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 11 | 299 | 310 | 72 | 11 | 214 | 10 | 3 | |||||
| (b) “Contacts" (included in(a)) | Adults | M. | 1 | 21 | 22 | 3 | — | 19 | — | — | |||
| F. | 1 | 42 | 43 | 5 | 1 | 35 | 2 | — | |||||
| Children under 15 | M. | 1 | 28 | 29 | — | — | 26 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| F. | 4 | 37 | 41 | 3 | — | 31 | 6 | 1 | |||||
| (e) Insured persons (included in (a)). | M. | 2 | 45 | 47 | 19 | 1 | 27 | _ | _ | ||||
| F. | 3 | 50 | 53 | 15 | 3 | 35 | — | — | |||||
| 1.—Number of patients under treatment or supervision (excluding persons under observation or domiciliary treatment) on the 31st December1... | 118 | 4.—Number of reports received from Insurance Practitioners in respect of insured patients under domiciliary treatment during the year | 51 | ||||||||||
| 91 | 6.—Number of visits paid by Nurses or Health Visitors to the homes of patients for dispensary purposes | 2085 | |||||||||||
| 3.—Number of cases in which the period of observation at the Dispensary exceeded two months | 24 | 6.—Number of specimens of sputum examined inconnection with the work of the Dispensary... | 224 | ||||||||||
This drop has been almost solely caused by the diminution in
children attending, owing to instructions limiting the type of case
admissible to attend. And yet, a delicate child, without any obvious
tuberculous lesion, is a potential tuberculous case later, and one was
able to set many a child on its feet.