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19
Over 80 per cent. of the inhabitants suffering from serious illness or
disease seek and obtain in-patient hospital accommodation.
In the case of all patients suffering from notifiable infectious disease,
it is the practice of the Department to advocate admission to an appropriate
hospital for isolation and treatment.
Reference has already been made to the numbers of persons in the
Borough who utilised the arrangements for outdoor medical relief made
by the Board of Guardians.
CAUSES OF SICKNESS IN THE BOROUGH.
The Ministry of Health directs that any causes of sickness and invalidity
which have been specially noteworthy in the area during the
year should be specified.
It is difficult to write definitely on this section of the Annual Report,
as the Medical Officer of Health has no access to sickness returns such
as those which are available to the officers of approved societies under
the National Insurance Act. The information that can be given is
therefore mainly based on impressions gleaned from local general practitioners,
from deductions on the incidence of certain diseases in the
death returns and from details as to persons who received medical relief
from the Board of Guardians.
The year, generally, was an unfavourable one from a meteorological
point of view. The weather was cold and damp, particularly in the
early months. As a consequence, there was an abnormal amount of
respiratory and rheumatic affections, but the deaths from diseases of
this character were lower than in previous years. The number of deaths
is, of course, no measure of the amount of sickness and can only be regarded
as an index. Influenza, milder in type than that which has been
experienced in preceding years, occurred in mild form in January, February
and March, its distribution being general throughout the Borough.
Judged by the notifications received, there was a decrease in the amount
of pneumonia, 109 notifications being received, compared with 157
in the previous year. This number probably under-estimates the incidence
of the disease, as many cases still escape notification. During
the year every medical practitioner in the Borough was supplied with a
list of the notifiable diseases, and efforts were made to ensure prompt
notification in every case.
There was a decrease in the number of cases of infectious disease.
The incidence of gastro-intestinal diseases was comparatively low.