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
Kensington 1926
The annual report on the health of the Borough for the year1926
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TABLE No. 4. Details of Cases dealt with by the District Nurses.
| Four Weeks ending | No. of cases referred to District Nurses. | No.of cases visited by District Nurses. | No. of visits paid by District Nurses. | Mo. of cases treated by District Nurses throughout. | No. of cases treated by District Nurses sent to hospital. | No.of deaths of cases treated by District Nurses. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 30th | 2 | 5 | 45 | 5 | — | 1 |
| Feb. 27th | 3 | 2 | 19 | 2 | — | — |
| March 27th | 1 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 1 | — |
| April 24th | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| May 22nd | 1 | 1 | 18 | 1 | — | — |
| June 19th | 14 | 14 | 197 | 14 | — | — |
| July 17th | 14 | 22 | 257 | 22 | — | — |
| Aug. 14th | 18 | 15 | 227 | 15 | — | — |
| Sept. 11th | 9 | 13 | 157 | 12 | 1 | — |
| Oct. 9th | 31 | 33 | 194 | 28 | 1 | — |
| Nov. 6th | 4 | 6 | 94 | 10 | — | — |
| Dec. 4th | — | 2 | 14 | 2 | — | — |
| Jan. 1st | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total | 97 | 116 | 1,245 | 113 | 3 | 1 |
The following is a report by Dr. Carter, giving particulars of the cases of enteritis dealt with
under the Council's scheme during the year under review:—
Zymotic Enteritis—1926.
The Borough Council's scheme has now been in operation for three years—the first year,
namely, 1924, from 1st July to 30th September, and in 1925 and 1926 from 1st June to 30th
September—and I have not found it necessary to alter the first plan of treatment, which I
described in my report for the year 1925.
There has been no interference with the work of the general practitioners in the neighbourhood.
I am glad to say that several doctors are making use of the scheme and have requested
the District Nurses to carry out the treatment prescribed in the Council's scheme. This
extremely gratifying because one of the chief aims of the Public Health Department is to be of
assistance to the doctors in the neighbourhood. Not a single complaint has reached me with
regard to the practical working of the Council's scheme.
I think the success attained is largely due to the enthusiasm of the staff of the Kensington
District Nursing Association. Miss Eales tells me that the nurses think it a pleasure to work
the scheme because the results are so good, also it gives the nurses and the mothers a feeling of
confidence.
Some of the Council's Health Visitors have informed me that the scheme has had a distinct
educational influence on the mothers and they have been heard discussing what to do when the
child is suddenly attacked with vomiting and diarrhoea. The mothers also realise the importance
of keeping a child without food for twenty-four hours. This I consider is a great step
forward in the prevention of the disease, as many of these mothers do not come to the Welfare
Centres and probably never intend to come.
I have learned from the Kensington District Nursing Association that many of the cases
have been notified within twenty-four hours of the commencement of the attack; consequently
they have received treatment at the earliest possible moment. The results have,
therefore, been good. Many of the cases were mild in type, but in former years many of these
mild cases developed into acute enteritis, so that it is never safe to predict that a case which is
mild at first will remain so.
I consider that this third year of trial conclusively proves that early treatment is the best
preventive measure to adopt.