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52
Report of the Tuberculosis Officer for 1933.
The primary notifications of tuberculosis for 1933 numbered
396, of which 333 were of pulmonary tuberculosis and 63 of other
forms of tuberculosis. During the year 142 persons died from
pulmonary tuberculosis and 18 died from other forms of tuberculosis.
The death-rate from pulmonary tuberculosis was 0.68 per
1,000 inhabitants, which is slightly higher than that for the previous
year.
Cases on Register. The number of cases on the Town Hall
register on December 31st, 1933, was 1,413, comprising 1,084 cases of
pulmonary tuberculosis, and 329 cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis.
The number of cases on the Dispensary register was 965, of which
787 were of pulmonary tuberculosis and 178 of non-pulmonary tuberculosis.
Thus 68 per cent of all tuberculosis cases in the Borough
have attended the Dispensary. All notified cases of tuberculosis are
visited at home by the Dispensary staff, whether or not they attend
the Dispensary.
Attendances of Patients. During 1933 the new cases attending
the Dispensary numbered 572 and the total attendances were 2,675.
Of the new cases 193 were referred to the Dispensary by their
medical advisers, 146 applied on their own initiative, and 172 of the
patients seen were contacts of tuberculous cases. A summary of
first attendances is shown in Table D.
Table A shows the condition at the end of the year 1933 of all
patients diagnosed as suffering from pulmonary tuberculosis who have
attended the Dispensary since its foundation in June, 1916. All
these cases are followed up year by year and the only ones lost sight
of are those which are transferred to other districts.
Home Visiting.—Table B shows the work carried out by the two
Health Visitors, who paid 2,523 visits during the year and gave help
and advice when required. When the homes are found unsuitable
for tuberculous patients, an effort is made to find them more hygienic
accommodation and some families have been granted houses on the
London County Council's and the Borough Council's Estates,