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 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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| Source of Information. | Number of Cases. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| New Cases. | Previously known. | Total Cases. | |
| Officers of Guardians | 102 | 47 | 149 |
| Tuberculosis Dispensary | 259 | 26 | 285 |
| *Brompton Hospital | 35 | 9 | 44 |
| Other Hospitals for Consumption | 21 | 3 | 24 |
| General Hospitals | 45 | 2 | 47 |
| Medical Officer (Education) L.C.C. | 26 | 3 | 29 |
| Private Medical Practitioners | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Reported by Sanitary Inspectors | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| Reported by other persons | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Total cases notified in 1911 | 507 | 91 | 598 |
| Death Certificates in 1911 | 64 | 91 | 155 |
| Total cases reported for the first time in 1911 | 571 | - | — |
The chief significance of the above table lies in the fact that within the short space of 12
months, 507 cases of consumption during life and 64 cases after death were brought to the notice
of the Public Health Department for the first time. More than half the notified cases were reported
by the Tuberculosis Dispensary and it is safe to assume that if the Dispensary had not been
established the majority of the consumptives now attending there would still be unknown to
the Health Authority for the Borough and would still be taking no steps to obtain the treatment
they require. That much remains to be done may be inferred from the figures in the table which
show that, out of 155 deaths, 64 (or more than one third) occurred in persons who had not been
notified as suffering from consumption. On the other hand the following figures show that already
a small proportion of those who die have been known to the Council's officers for considerable
periods of time.
| Date of previous notification. | Number of Deaths in 1911. |
|---|---|
| 1902 | 1 |
| 1903 | 0 |
| 1904 | 1 |
| 1905 | 0 |
| 1906 | 1 |
| 1907 | 2 |
| 1908 | 1 |
| 1909 | 3 |
| 1910 | 26 |
| 1911 | 56 |
| Total deaths of persons previously notified | 91 |
* Of 44 cases notified from Brompton, 29 were reported voluntarily under a special arrangement with the Medical
Officer of Health for the London County Council, which lapsed on May 1st, when the new Regulation came into force.