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 1936
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The following table shows the sources of the new notifications during the year:—
| Cases. | |
|---|---|
| Brompton Hospital | 28 |
| St. Charles Hospital | 24 |
| St. Mary Abbots Hospital | 16 |
| St. Mary's Hospital | 14 |
| Hospitals and sanatoria other than above | 46 |
| Total cases notified by hospitals | 128 |
| General practitioners | 74 |
| Tuberculosis officer | 6 |
It will be noted that 61 per cent, of the cases are notified from hospitals or allied institutions.
It might, therefore, be inferred that there is a tendency for practitioners to delay notification until
a definite diagnosis has been proved, or that the patients fail to obtain medical advice until hospital
treatment is necessary.
The following table shows the number of cases added to and the number removed from the notification register during the year:—
| Respiratory. | Non-respiratory. | Totals. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Males. | Females. | ||
| Cases on the register of notifications on 1st January, 1936 | 278 | 259 | 117 | 125 | 779 |
| Cases notified for the first time during the year | 69 | 105 | 17 | 17 | 208 |
| Cases brought to notice otherwise than by notification | 52 | 29 | 9 | 13 | 103 |
| Cases removed from the register during the year on account of having:— | |||||
| 19 | 31 | 19 | 29 | 98 | |
| 64 | 49 | 17 | 25 | 155 | |
| 73 | 46 | 4 | 8 | 131 | |
| 8 | 12 | 7 | 5 | 32 | |
| Cases remaining on the register on 31st December, 1936 | 235 | 255 | 96 | 88 | 674 |
One of the characteristics of the population in North Kensington is that it is nomadic. This is
apparently growing and it causes considerable difficulty in keeping the patients and their family
contacts under supervision.
| Years. | Respiratory tuberculosis. | Non-respiratory tuberculosis. | Tuberculosis (all forms). | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deaths. | Deaths per 100,000 persons living. | Deaths. | Deaths per 100,000 persons living. | Deaths. | Deaths per 100,000 persons living. | |
| 1927 | 114 | 65 | 26 | 15 | 140 | 80 |
| 1928 | 107 | 60 | 25 | 14 | 132 | 74 |
| 1929 | 120 | 68 | 17 | 10 | 137 | 78 |
| 1930 | 140 | 78 | 25 | 14 | 165 | 92 |
| 1931 | 127 | 70 | 21 | 12 | 148 | 82 |
| 1932 | 107 | 58 | 20 | 11 | 127 | 69 |
| 1933 | 124 | 58 | 14 | 8 | 138 | 76 |
| 1934 | 103 | 58 | 15 | 8 | 118 | 66 |
| 1935 | 78 | 44 | 11 | 6 | 89 | 50 |
| 1936 | 105 | 59 | 18 | 10 | 123 | 69 |
The increase in the mortality rate is mainly in the male population in the age groups of 15-25
and 45 years and over, and in the female population in the age groups of 15-25 and over 45 years.
Thirty-five of the deaths from tuberculosis during the year had not been notified previous to
death and 22 of these occurred in hospital, that is, 28'5 per cent, of the total deaths from tuberculosis
were not previously notified.