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 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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An analysis of the tuberculosis register is shown in the following table.—
| Pulmonary. | Non-pulmonary. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males | Females | Males | Females | |
| No. of cases on the register of notifications on 1st January, 1931 | 357 | 343 | 177 | 199 |
| No. of cases notified for the first time during the year | 114 | 91 | 22 | 18 |
| No. of cases brought to notice otherwise than by notification | 25 | 23 | 12 | 14 |
| No. of cases removed from the register during the year on account of having:— | ||||
| (a) been cured | 11 | 4 | 11 | 18 |
| (6) removed from district | 49 | 56 | 12 | 12 |
| (c) died | 74 | 42 | 3 | 6 |
| 2 | 1 | – | – | |
| No. of cases remaining on the register on 2nd January, 1932 | 347 | 347 | 184 | 187 |
The number of patients on the dispensary register on 31st December, 1931, was 883, whilst
at the beginning of the year they numbered 877.
A comparison of the dispensary figures with the total number on the register (1,065) shows
that the majority of the tuberculosis cases are dealt with through the council's scheme—over
80 per cent.
Residential Institutional Treatment, Light Treatment, X-Ray Diagnosis, etc.
The facilities available for residential institutional treatment at sanatoria and St. Mary Abbots
Hospital, for medical consultations, X-ray diagnosis and light treatment, will be found on page 82
of the annual report for 1928, which also contains reference to the close co-operation of the council's
staff with general medical practitioners and other bodies and institutions. There were 42 X-ray
examinations of dispensary patients during the year, apart from those made in St. Mary Abbots
Hospital of patients sent in there from the dispensary.
| Women Health Officers. | Total. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | No. 2 | No. 3 | No. 4 | No. 5 | No. 6 | No. 7 | ||
| Tuberculosis. | ||||||||
| First visits | 26 | 16 | 18 | 29 | 17 | 23 | 48 | 177 |
| Re-visits | 173 | 178 | 216 | 194 | 192 | 203 | 237 | 1,393 |
| First visits | 4 | 3 | 25 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 47 |
| Re-visits | 61 | 148 | 122 | 84 | 44 | 90 | 61 | 610 |
Housing conditions form an important element in regard to tuberculosis, and home visits are
valuable in this connection. The sleeping arrangements are frequently unsatisfactory and the
women health officers always enquire into them. Wherever possible, desirable alterations are
pointed out and urged upon the family.
Reports are also made upon sanitary defects and special economic and other difficulties, and
efforts are made to deal with them.
These visits are additional to those made by the Charity Organisation Society and the Invalid
Children's Aid Association, who undertake the weekly collection of any assessment made in connection
with treatment in residential institutions under the London County Council's tuberculosis
scheme.