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CHEST CLINIC, LEWISHAM
I am indebted to Dr. M. Farquharson for the following report concerning the Chest
Clinic at Blagdon Road, of which she is the consultant physician: —
During 1971 1,875 new patients were seen at the Clinic, these comprised 954
men, 781 women and 140 children. In addition 5,751 patients were sent for
X-ray examination by their General Practitioners. The total attendances at the
Clinic for the year were 18,010.
The number of new notifications of Tuberculosis in the Lewisham part of the
Borough was 53, this is the lowest recorded figure. Of this number 45 attended the
chest clinic (29 men, 13 women and 3 children). Ten of these Tuberculosis cases
were born outside the British Isles.
B.C.G. vaccination was given to 159 contacts.
For the last three months of 1971 we had only one Health Visitor owing to illness,
and therefore the total number of visits done by our Health Visiting Staff during
the year is considerably down, being 1,519.
Among the large variety of chest diseases investigated by the Clinic there were
124 cases of asthma.
With regard to carcinoma of the lung, 112 new cases were diagnosed, 24% of
these were women who comprised an undue proportion of the younger age group
patients. Further grave news in this disease is the figure of 8% operability in this
year's cases.
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