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
Islington 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Islington Borough]
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17
Mass X-Ray.
(a) In connection with the campaign for early detection of tuberculosis, if
possible before symptoms appear, an invitation was again received from the Mass
X-Ray Unit of the North-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board to co-operate
with them in arranging for the attendance at this unit of factory and office staffs
and residents of the Borough. The unit operated during the summer for approximately
three weeks at the West Islington Public Library with the approval of the
Council. Information regarding the operation of the unit was circularised to a
number of factories in the Borough and poster publicity was also given.
(b) The North-West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board further invited the
co-operation of the Borough Council, and the Public Health Department in
particular, in connection with a proposal to establish a static mass radiography
unit in the Borough for an experimental period of a year in the first place. It
should be possible in this time to examine a substantial section of the population.
It is understood that this will be the first static unit of this nature to be tried in
London, and the Council gladly indicated their approval and support of this proposal
of the Regional Hospital Board.
| Ages | New Cases | Deaths | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Respiratory | Non-Respiratory | Respiratory | Non-Respiratory | |||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | |
| 0— | — | 2 | 1 | — | — | 1 | ||
| 1— | 13 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | 1 | — |
| 5— | 13 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | _ | |
| 15— | 92 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 6 | — | 1 | |
| 25— | 63 | 63 | 7 | 5 | 6 | — | ||
| 35— | 31 | 27 | 3 | 9 | 5 | 1 | ||
| 45— | 16 | 2 | — | 7 | — | — | — | |
| 55— | 10 | 3 | 19 | 6 | — | — | ||
| 65 and upwards | 26 | 7 | 1 | — | 18 | 8 | — | — |
| Total for all ages | 266 | 226 | 29 | 29 | 59 | 31 | 4 | 3 |
| 550 | 97 | |||||||
Rate per 1,000 population—
New oases—pulmonary 1.87
non-pulmonary 0.18
Deaths— pulmonary 0.38
non-pulmonary 0.03
Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations 1930.
The total number of cases of tuberculosis on the Register as at 31 st December, 1050, was—
| Pulmonary— Males | 1,120 |
| Females | 966 |
| Non-Pulmonary—Males | 131 |
| Females | 151 |
| 2,368 |
Tuberculosis Dispensaries.
The Tuberculosis Dispensaries of the Regional Hospital Board continue to
function at the Royal Northern and Royal Chest Hospitals, with Dr. J. Wallace
Craig as Chest Physician-in-charge.