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 1932
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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67
PART II.
THE WORK OF THE CENTRE.
by JANET K. AITKEN, M.D., M.R.C.P.
In the five years 1927-1932 during which the centre has been in existence, 1,102 cases of rheumatism or
potential rheumatism have been supervised. Although the centre was primarily established to deal with
cases from Kensington, it has been the custom to accept cases from other boroughs whenever advice was required.
The borough of Hammersmith have made a grant towards the expenses of the centre (which is held at the
Princess Louise Kensington Hospital for Children), and to the medical officers, in order that the centre may be
responsible for the supervision of certain cases referred from that borough.
| 1929-30 | 1930-31 | 1931-32 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | 128 | 177 | 266 |
| Hammersmith | 35 | 40 | 47 |
| Other boroughs | 10 | 17 | 12 |
| 173 | 234 | 325 |
During the year 1931-32, 48 sessions have been held at the Princess Louise Hospital, and the average attendance has risen from 23.7 in 1930-31, to 25.4 in 1931-32; the total number of attendances during this year has risen from 1,160 to 1,254.
| Average attendance per session of Kensington patients | 21.1 |
| „ ,, ,, ,, other ,, | 4.3 |
| 25.4 |
The total number of attendances of patients during 1931-32 is as follows:—
| Kensington Notified cases | 24 | |
| 370 | ||
| Unnotified cases | 80 | |
| 545 | ||
| Hammersmith | 20 | |
| 169 | ||
| Hounslow | _ | |
| 5 | ||
| Paddington | 3 | |
| 10 | ||
| Chelsea | 2 | |
| — | ||
| Various boroughs | 26 | |
| 1,254 | ||
The new Kensington cases in 1931-32 were recommended to attend the clinic from the following sources:—
| Invalid Children's Aid Association | 15 |
| School medical officers | 25 |
| Princess Louise Hospital | 15 |
| Other hospitals and institutions | 12 |
| Private practitioners | 5 |
| Notifications | 16 |
| Public health department | 1 |
| Parents | 15 |
| 104 |
The disposal of cases which attended the centre may be summarised as follows :—
| Tonsillectomy at Princess Louise Hospital | 9 |
| Admission to Princess Louise Hospital | 22 |
| Admission to St. Mary Abbots Hospital | 2 |
| Admission to other hospitals | 10 |
| Special schools | 1 |
| Special heart homes— | |
| 1. Carshalton | 10 |
| 2. West Wickham | 2 |
| 3. Lancing | 2 |
| Convalescent homes | 8 |
| Referred to massage department for special chest expansion | |
| exercises | 18 |
Cases which were admitted to Princess Louise Hospital and St. Mary Abbots Hospital sometimes had tonsillectomy
performed during their stay in hospital when the acute stage was quiescent. Cases were admitted to
other hospitals either because they were over the age for admission to Princess Louise Hospital or because they
did not live in Kensington. The admission to convalescent homes is arranged through the lady almoner at
Princess Louise Hospital or through the Invalid Children's Aid Association.