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81
There were in addition 78 respiratory cases and 24 non-respiratory cases added to the
dispensary register during the year upon removal into the borough of patients from other
districts, as compared with a total of 88 for 1929.
The "suspect" cases shown above include all cases not diagnosed in the first instance as
either definitely tuberculous or non-tuberculous; to these must be added 10 left on the dispensary
books at the end of 1929, making a total of 132.
The subsequent disposal of these 132 was as follows :—
Diagnosed subsequently as suffering from respiratory tuberculosis 7
Diagnosed subsequently as suffering from non-respiratory tuberculosis 0
Discharged finally as non-tubercular
Discharged as having ceased attendance 91
Remaining on books on 31st December, 1929 34
Cases came to the dispensary of their own accord or were sent up through one of the following
agencies: the Public Health Department of the Council, the Ministry of Pensions, Hospitals, School
Medical Officers, the Kensington Board of Guardians, the Invalid Children's Aid Association, the
Charity Organisation Society, Clergy and private practitioners. Primary consultation cases with
the latter numbered 237.
The treatment recommended for the cases diagnosed at the dispensary as suffering from
tuberculosis., which numbered 176 (pulmonary 138 and 38 non-pulmonary), was as follows:—
Sanatoria, 82; Domicilary, 6; St. Mary Abbots and other Hospitals, 72; Dispensary, 14;
Kensal House School, 2.
The total number of attendances by patients at the dispensary was 2,807, and 1,589 systematic
examinations were made.
The number of visits paid by the Tuberculosis Officer was 123, of which 34 were consultations
at home with the doctor in charge of the case.
Written reports on cases to public authorities numbered 1,732 and to doctors 496.
The total number of sputum examinations was 503 (including 56 specimens sent in by doctors)
from 410 individual cases. One hundred and fifty-five specimens showed tubercle bacilli to be
present and 348 gave negative results.
Records.
Each year several cases of tuberculosis are notified but for special reasons are not kept under
subsequent supervision by the Council's staff. Some of these cases are in comfortable circumstances
and the private practitioners send requests with the notifications that visits by the
Council's staff should not be paid and that they will take steps to prevent the spread of infection.
Other notifications are in respect of domestic servants in good class houses who. in a very short
time, may leave for their homes in other districts without any notification to this effect being sent
to the Public Health Department. Some of these patients die, some are cured, whilst still others
are lost sight of, with the result that in the course of several years a number of cases remain on the
register, the inclusion of which does not give a fair index of the number actually within the
borough.
With a view to bringing the register up-to-date, the staff at the tuberculosis dispensary and
the women health officers devoted a considerable amount of time during 1929 and 193G investigating
the circumstances and residence of all cases notified which have not in the past been kept under
regular supervision. This investigation resulted in the removal of a large number of cases from the
register and details are given in the following table:—
Pulmonary.
Non-Pulmonary.
Males
Females
Males
Females
No. of cases on the register of notifications on 1st January,
1930 414 419 209 220
No. of cases notified for the first time during the year 105 97 23 35
No. of cases brought to notice otherwise than by notification 59 58 22 11
No. of cases removed from the register during the year on
account of having:—
(а) been cured 21 10 14 15
(b) removed from district 98 133 45 40
(c) died 100 88 18 11
(d)been inaccurately diagnosed 2 0 0 1
No. of cases remaining on the register on 31st December, 1930 357 343 177 199