View report page

60
Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations 1930. Environmental
investigations:
Investigations are made under the above regulations of the home
conditions of persons notified as suffering from tuberculosis. This work
includes not only visits in respect of primary notifications, i.e., the
first notification that a person is suffering from tuberculosis, but applies
also to persons diagnosed as suffering from tuberculosis in some other
district who subsequently move into Lewisham.
The work is carried out mainly by the infectious disease visitors.
The primary object of this visiting is to ascertain under what housing
conditions the patient and his contacts are living and if any conditions
are found which call for action by the health department the matter
is referred to the district sanitary inspector, or other action of a remediable
nature is taken.
The work is solely concerned with the environment of the patients
and their home contacts and does not include the giving of advice as to
treatment or precautions to be observed, this aspect of tuberculosis
work being continued by the staff at the chest clinic.
The following table shows the number of visits made in 1949 :—

Tuberculosis — Mass Radiography Unit
A note was published in the annual report for 1946 on the results
of the visit of the Mass Radiography Unit to the borough in 1946. In
that year 8,556 persons were X-rayed (3,234 males and 5,332 females)
of whom 80 were found to be cases, active or inactive, of tuberculosis
(35 males and 45 females) giving an incidence of tuberculosis of 9.3
in 1,000 (10.8 per thousand males and 8.0 per thousand females).
In 1948 the mass radiography unit was again available for Lewisham
residents and workers but during the campaign it was unfortunately
not possible for the unit to be stationed in the borough. It was in fact
in a building some two miles or so away. This seriously reduced the
popularity of the unit and in fact only 1,854 persons were X-rayed
(873 males and 981 females). Of these 26 (12 males and 14 females)
were thought to be cases of tuberculosis, whether active or inactive,
giving an incidence of tuberculosis of 14.0 in 1,000 (13.7 per thousand
males and 14.3 per thousand females). Although the unit was available
in the latter part of 1948 these figures were unavailable for inclusion
in the annual report for that year and therefore they are included now.
The mass radiography unit again visited the borough early in 1950.
A report of this will be included in the next annual report but meanwhile
it can be said that the campaign, which had the active support of the
health department, was a considerable success and over 10,000 persons
were examined.