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 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The places where deaths from tuberculosis occurred are set forth in the following list:—
| Pulmonary Tuberculosis, | Non-Pulmonary Tuberculosis. | |
|---|---|---|
| Patient's home | 42 | 6 |
| St. Mary Abbots Hospital | 60 | 11 |
| Princess Louise Kensington Hospital for Children | - | 2 |
| Outlying Hospitals | 23 | 4 |
| Other places outside the borough | 15 | 2 |
Public Health (Prevention of Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1925.—These Regulations were introduced
with a view to —
)
(1) preventing persons suffering from respiratory tuberculosis entering upon an occupation
involving the handling of milk ; and
(2) enabling local authorities, in proper cases and with suitable safeguards, to require
persons engaged in such occupation to discontinue their work when found to be
suffering from the disease in an infective stage.
During the year no case occurred which required the attention of the Council under these
Regulations.
THE COUNCIL'S SCHEME FOR THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT
OF TUBERCULOSIS.
The Staff Engaged on Tuberculosis Work.
The staff at the dispensary consists of a Tuberculosis Officer ; two indoor nurses, one of whom
also acts as secretary to the Tuberculosis Care Committee and the other as a dispenser ; a clerk
and a caretaker. These officers give whole-time service to tuberculosis work.
In 1920, the borough was divided into seven areas for the purpose of home visiting in connection
with maternity and child welfare work and a woman health officer was allocated to each of these
districts. When the Council assumed full control of tuberculosis work in the borough arrangements
were made for the home visiting of tuberculous patients to be undertaken by these women health
officers in their respective areas. These officers visit the tuberculosis dispensary daily for the
purpose of obtaining information as to visits necessary to be paid, and they confer weekly with the
Tuberculosis Officer, when they report to him in regard to the home visits paid in the previous week.
Approximately three-sixteenths of the time of these seven women health officers is devoted
to tuberculosis work.
Dispensary Diagnosis and Treatment.
The adequacy of the scheme adopted by the Council in 1922 for the prevention and treatment
of tuberculosis is evidenced by the fact that after nine years of work no material alterations or
additions have been required.
The number of new cases seen at the dispensary during the year, with the original diagnoses made, is shown in the following table:—
| Adults. | Children under 15 yrs. | Total. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. | ||
| Examined for first time | 222 | 323 | 151 | 158 | 854 |
| New cases with Respiratory Tuberculosis | 62 | 58 | 3 | 8 | 131 (15.3 per cent.) |
| New cases with Non-Respiratory Tuberculosis | 6 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 38 ( 4.4 „ ) |
| New cases regarded as “Suspects” | 36 | 64 | 11 | 11 | 122 (14.2 „ ) |
| New cases not suffering from Tuberculosis | 118 | 188 | 128 | 129 | 563 (65.9 „ ) |
This table shows an increase of 21 in the number of respiratory cases over last year.
This increase is partly due to the inclusion under a new regulation of the Ministry of Health
of certain special cases undergoing institutional treatment. The total number of non-respiratory
cases is also more than in 1929, being 38 instead of 30.