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WEST LONDON HOSPITAL MARTHA & LUKE CLINIC REPORT
It would be surprising if this Clinic failed to report a large increase
in the number of patients attending from year to year, and this was so in
1970. The total number of cases rose from 11,583 to 14,947.
The number of males rose from 7,645 to 9,635. Females rose from 3,938
to 5,312.
As can be imagined, this threw a very considerable strain upon both
the staff as well as the premises of the department which was originally
designed to deal with a total of 6,000 new cases per annum. During the year
a small extension was authorised to the premises in the front of the department
and a somewhat larger one at the back to come into operation in
about July 1971.
The incidence of early syphilis remained low during the year, rising
from 108 to 134 cases. There were 117 males and 17 females. Of the males
95 had acquired infection homosexually, a total of 81.2%. This is the only
satisfactory epidemiological feature. In this country early syphilis has
been kept to a remarkably low level compared to the epidemic proportions
in the U.S.A. and this is probably due largely to the great attention paid
to every known case that occurs in this country.
Gonorrhoea rose from 2,998 cases in 1969 to 3,432 in 1970. In the
latter year the respective totals were 2,309 males and 1,123 females. Of
the male cases 722 (31.3%) were homosexually acquired. If this is subtracted
from the male total the resulting ratio of male and female infection becomes
1.4 to 1, which is a relatively satisfactory ratio, and over the past 10
years constitutes a revolution.
Other conditions showed a sharp rise. The number of cases of non-
gonococcal urethritis in males was 2,833 which considerably exceeds the
number of cases of gonorrhoea. There were 1,300 cases of trichomonas dealt
with.
Every other category and condition seen rose compartively during the
course of the year. All male cases attending during the year symptomless
as reported in 1969, continued throughout 19 70, and a further remarkably
large increase may well occur in 19 71. On the other hand, the growing
readiness of patients to come up with all kinds of problems,is no doubt
due to the long term low keyed propaganda that has gone on both from the
clinic and the Borough of Hammersmith and apart from over-straining our
valuable resources is much to be welcomed from the public health point of
view.
Finally, the number of cases coming from Hammersmith were 5,759.
There were 32 cases of early syphilis; 23 late and latent syphilis, making
a total of 55. There were 1,345 cases of gonorrhoea and 4,359 other condi-
tions .
C.22