London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
68
PART II.
The Work of the Centre
by JANET K. AITKEN, M.D., M.R.C.P.,
and ALBERTINE L. WINNER, M.D., M.R.C.P.
In the eight years 1927-35 during which the centre has been in existence, 1,707 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.
| 1930-31 | 1931-32 | 1932-33 | 1933-34 | 1934-35 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kensington | 177 | 266 | 290 | 311 | 296 |
| Hammersmith | 40 | 47 | 51 | 45 | 39 |
| Other borough | 17 | 12 | 20 | 35 | 40 |
| 234 | 325 | 361 | 391 | 375 |
During the year 1934-35, 48 sessions have been held at the Princess Louise Hospital.
| Average attendance per session of Kensington patients | 21.5 |
| „ „ „ „ other „ | 5.6 |
| 27. 1 |
The total number of attendances of patients during 1934-35 is as follows:—
| Kensington Notified cases | (a) | New | 19 |
| Old | 381 | ||
| Unnotified cases | (a) | New | 64 |
| (b) | Old | 580 | |
| Hammersmith | (a) | New | 10 |
| Old | 124 | ||
| Paddington | (a) | New | 4 |
| (b) | Old | 32 | |
| Ealing | (a) | New | 5 |
| (b) | Old | 32 | |
| Various boroughs | (a) | New | 5 |
| Old | 58 | ||
| 1,314 |
The new Kensington cases in 1934-35 were recommended to attend the clinic from the following sources :—
| Invalid Children's Aid Association | 5 |
| School medical officers | 25 |
| Princess Louise Hospital ... | 17 |
| Private doctors | 12 |
| Notifications | 8 |
| Parents | 13 |
| Infant welfare centres | 3 |
| • | 83 |
The disposal of cases which attended the centre and which needed special treatment may be summarised as follows :—
| Tonsillectomy at Princess Louise Hospital | 2 |
| Admission to Princess Louise Hospital | 27 |
| Admission to other hospitals | 4 |
| Special schools | 6 |
| Special heart homes | 4 |
| Convalescent homes | 28 |
| Referred to massage department for special chest expansion exercises | 7 |
| 78 |
Cases which were admitted to Princess Louise 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.