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
Battersea 1945
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Battersea Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
6
The death rates for all forms of tuberculosis was 74.1 per
100,000 population, that for the pulmonary cases being 68.6. These
figures are the lowest since 1938.
The death rate for the non-pulmonary cases was 5.5 per 100,000
population, which is a decrease of 3.9 from the corresponding
figure for 1944.
Advantage was taken of the proximity of the mass radiography unit at the end of 1945 and the beginning of 1946 to arrange for groups of workers to attend. The following table show the results obtained:—
| Males | Females | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examined | 1339 | 1089 | 2428 |
| Referred for large films | 60 | 25 | 85 |
| Of these:— | ... | ||
| Did not re-attend | 1 | – | 1 |
| No abnormality | 7 | 6 | 13 |
| Calcd. and other lesions— | |||
| N.F.A. | 28 | 5 | 33 |
| Referred to Gen. Practitioner: Probably T.B. | 17 | 12 | 29 |
| Probably not T.B. | 7 | 1 | 8 |
| Cardo-vasc. | – | – | – |
| Refused further investigation | – | 1 | 1 |
The provision of allowances for persons undergoing treatment
for pulmonary tuberculosis and their dependants, details of which
were outlined in the Annual Report for 1943, were continued during
the year.
The administration of the scheme involved the presentation of
138 new cases and the number of cases reviewed was 570: it also
necessitated 754 interviews with patients or their relatives and the
sending of 719 letters. The Borough Treasurer disbursed
£3842 12s. 6d. to 153 patients, in addition to which various small
sums were paid out by the stewards of L.C.C. institutions.
Extra nourishment was provided during the financial year ended
31st March, 1946, for 10 necessitous dispensary patients at a cost
of approximately £81.
The number of new patients attending at the Dispensary was
775. Of these 572 were discharged as "non-tuberculous," 153
were found to be suffering from the disease and 50 were still under
observation. Eight cases kept under observation during previous
years were also found to be suffering from the disease, making a
total of 161 definite cases. The total number of attendances during
the year was 6,527. Home visits to the number of 3,533 were paid
(311 by Tuberculosis Officer and 3,222 by nursing staff). 130
patients received institutional treatment, the average length of stay
being 133 days,
The Handicraft Class was held on 48 occasions during the year
with an average attendance of 6.
Cancer. —214 deaths of Battersea residents were recorded.