London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Holborn 1936

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]

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Non-attendance at Tuberculosis Dispensary. Thirty-eight of the 90 cases attended the Holborn Tuberculosis Dispensary. The following indicates the reasons for non-attendance in the remaining cases: —

Removed to Hospitals, etc., for treatment without priorattendance at Dispensary18
Dead before or soon after notification15
Treatment at home by private doctor1
Not traced and common lodging house cases6
Removed from Borough8
No information3
Notification withdrawn1
52

Institutional Treatment.
During the year notifications were received of 88 admissions to institutions.
These admissions represent 72 patients, some of whom were transferred from one
institution to another, and others were discharged, or took their own discharge,
and subsequently were readmitted.
The admissions were to the following institutions: —
Institutions of the London County Council 67
Other institutions 21
Yisits to Homes, etc.
During 1936 the Tuberculosis Officer made 41 visits to the homes of patients.
The general visitation of the patients and supervision of home conditions is carried
out by the Tuberculosis Nurse who made 1,002 visits.
The advice given by the Tuberculosis Nurse includes suggestions respecting
food and cooking and suitable cookery books are supplied free of charge when
required.
Contacts.
All contacts are urged to attend for examination at the Tuberculosis
Dispensary.
Fifty-seven contacts, viz., 26 adults and 31 children under fifteen years of age,
were examined for the first time during the year 1936. Of these, one adult
and three children were found to be definitely suffering from tuberculosis. Fiftytwo
were definitely diagnosed as not suffering from the disease, and in one case
(a child) the diagnosis was not completed by the end of the year. The routine
examination of contacts is desirable as a means of discovering not only cases
of tuberculosis in early stages of infection but even definitely infective cases
which may be disseminating infection although remaining undiscovered and untreated.
Arrangements were continued during the year for co-operation with the
school medical service to ensure that no contacts of school age remain
unexamined: if such examination cannot be carried out at the Dispensary the
School Medical Officers are notified so that the examination may be carried out at
the school. Information as to the results of such examinations, whether at the
Dispensary or the schools, is interchanged as necessary.