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Hammersmith Hospital is the headquarters of the Post-graduate Medical
School of London, and also includes the Medical Research Council's Linear
Accelerator and Cyclotron building in connection with Cancer Research and
treatment. It also has a large Maternity Section where more than 2,000 children
were born this year. The Royal Masonic Hospital is one of the few remaining
private hospitals. Queen Charlotte's is a maternity hospital with its own Board
of Governors, and is the largest independent maternity hospital in the British Isles.
More than 3,000 babies of all nationalities were born there during 1964.
Hammersmith Chest Clinic
All aspects of the tuberculosis problem and other chest diseases are dealt
with at this Clinic which is housed at Hammersmith Hospital. The Clinic is closely
linked with the Post-graduate Medical School of London and takes part in the
teaching of post-graduate students. Management of the Clinic is under the direct
supervision of a Consultant Chest Physician, who is also a lecturer in chest diseases
on the staff of the Post-graduate Medical School.
The Clinic, its associated independent radiography department and 27 beds
are housed in the same building and are run as an integral unit. A consultant
diagnostic service for all chest diseases is provided for local practitioners who
may send patients for a full consultation if a letter of introduction is produced,
or for an X-ray examination only, which is arranged by a special form of reference.
This latter service provides a rapid means of obtaining a chest X-ray without the
formality of being examined by a consultant or other hospital physician.
In addition to the diagnostic services provided, out-patient clinics are held
for new and follow-up cases, for ambulance cases, for contacts and for antituberculosis
vaccinations. A special Clinic is also held in conjunction with the
Department of Medicine for patients suffering from Chronic Bronchitis.
During the treatment, rehabilitation and re-settlement of tuberculous and other
patients, many social and financial problems arise. To provide adequate help
and advice in these circumstances a fully equipped social welfare department forms
an integral part of the Chest Clinic service. This department is in the hands of
a Certified Almoner, who is in contact with many statutory and voluntary agencies
through which advice and assistance can be provided.
A comprehensive management scheme for tuberculous patients is in operation
in the Borough. Suitable patients are treated with modern methods in their
own homes and visited there by the staff of the Chest Clinic. Visits to the Clinic
are arranged if necessary by ambulance and patients are also admitted to the
Chest Clinic beds for chemotherapy and for major and minor thoracic surgery.
Sanatorium treatment, when this is necessary, is undertaken in Sanatoria under
the auspices of the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. Such
admission can only be arranged through the Chest Clinic, as is also the case with
tuberculous patients to be admitted to Hammersmith Hospital.
Laboratory Facilities
The Public Analyst for the Borough operates from the Southwark Borough
Council's laboratory situated in the Health Centre, Walworth Road, S.E. 17.
Bacteriological examination of food is carried out by the Public Health
Laboratory Service, County Hall, S.E.I, and the Royal Institute of Public Health.
The Public Health Laboratory Service is also available to doctors for bacteriological
examinations, throat swabs, intestinal specimens, etc. The necessary swabs and
outfits for the laboratory can be obtained from the Public Health Department.