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
Chelsea 1940
Annual report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chelsea, 1940
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77
Chelsea Tuberculosis Dispensary.—This Dispensary, located at
Brompton Hospital, provides highly efficient treatment for all cases
resident in the Borough. By agreement with the Borough Council,
adequate Medical, Nursing and other necessary services are provided.
The Tuberculosis Officer's
services are available when required by any medical practitioner in the
Borough. Social work in connection with the Dispensary cases is carried
out systematically and well by a trained. Social Worker.
With the approval of the Ministry of Health, the Borough Council
made a financial grant of £1,000 to Brompton Hospital for the year
commencing 1st April, 1940. An additional sum of £160 for Nurses
visits to homes of patients was also granted by the Council to the Hospital
and approved by the Ministry of Health.
Table No. 54, summarises, for the past two years, the number of
persons examined at the Dispensary for the first time, the percentage
of these cases in which definite tuberculosis was found and the total
attendances at the Dispensary.
TABLE No. 54.
Work done at the Dispensary.
| Year. | Newcases examined during the year. | Definite Tuberculosis. | Total attendances at Dispensary. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 208 | 10 percent. | 1,563 |
| 1940 | 140 | 12 ,, ,, | 1,046 |
Institutional Treatment.—The London County Council, the
authority mainly responsible for the institutional treatment of Tuberculosis
in London, maintains St. George's Home, in Milman's Street,
Chelsea, as a receiving hospital for cases of pulmonary tuberculosis
(females).
Of the cases which terminated fatally during the year, 47 per cent,
died in St. Luke's Hospital and 39 per cent, in other public institutions,
that is to say 86 per cent, died away from their homes, the corresponding
figure for 1939 being 90 per cent.
Co-operation with Hospitals and Invalid Children's Aid
Association.—Existing arrangements with general and special hospitals
in the neighbourhood continue to give satisfaction. Cases under
treatment at St. Luke's Hospital are visited by the Tuberculosis Visitor.
Arrangements are made with Brompton Hospital for the X-ray examination
of difficult cases, and for the provision of artificial pneumothorax
refills. Many patients, both adults and children, who attend
the Dispensary for examination, either as contacts or on their own
initiative, are found to be suffering from conditions other than