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22
Paddington Green Children's Hospital Rheumatism Supervisory Centre.
Report fob the Year 1935 by Reginald Miller, M.D., F.R.C.P., Physioian-in-Charge.
Although since the beginning of 1936 there has been an increase in the amount of acute rheumatism
seen amongst the children of Paddington, during the whole of 1935 the disease kept very
mild, with consequent benefit to the children of the Borough.
The Centre held 44 sessions during the year, meeting always on Saturday mornings. The
total numbers of attendances by Paddington children amounted to 161. During the year 9 new
cases attended, 5 of which were referred by the School Medical Service. 18 cases were notified
during the year but none of these has yet attended the Centre. During the year 22 cases were
discharged; 15 on account of being over age, 4 by reason of removal of their homes, two as being
judged after prolonged observation as no longer needing advice, and one case died. These figures
tend to show how much the Centre is appreciated by those who use it, as the number of children
who lapse merely from parental slackness, remains, as it always has been, remarkably low.
At the end of 1935 there were on the live register of the Centre 90 Paddington children
attending regularly. The number of relapses amongst them during the year was satisfactorily
small, and were all amenable to out-patient treatment.
The women Sanitary Inspectors have paid 417 visits in connection with the work of the Centre,
inspecting the home conditions of the new cases and keeping in touch with the old. All instances
of damp in the homes have been reported to, and remedied by, the Medical Officer of Health.
I acknowledge most gratefully the valuable work undertaken so promptly and punctually by the
women inspectors; and should wish to call attention once more to the very successful regime provided
for children with rheumatic heart disease in the special schools for the physically defective. I am
also indebted to Dr. Mary Davies for her assistance throughout the year.
CHOLERA, DYSENTERY, GLANDERS, HYDROPHOBIA, PLAGUE,
RELAPSING FEVER, TYPHUS FEVER.
Eleven cases of dysentery were notified during 1935, but there were no cases of the other
diseases included in the heading.
WHOOPING-COUGH.
This disease is notifiable in only three London Boroughs and not in Paddington. Since both the
cause of the disease and effective means for treating it are unknown it would not appear that notification
could assist very much in checking it. Whooping-cough is very infectious in the catarrhal stage,
before the characteristic whoop develops, and this adds to the difficulty in dealing with the disease.
In 1935, 5 persons died of whooping-cough, all being children under the age of 5 years. The
number of deaths in 1934 and 1933 were 11 and 5 respectively.
FOOD POISONING.
Section 7 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1932, requires medical practitioners
to notify cases of food poisoning or suspected food poisoning. During 1935 63 cases of illness,
suspected to have been caused by food poisoning, were notified in the Borough. In no case was action
considered necessary as regards the source of the food supply. In most of the cases there was no doubt
that the illness was not "food-poisoning," but was due to personal idiosyncracy or to the results
of some dietetic indiscretion.
CANCER.
Cancer is now one of the commonest causes of death. 235 deaths occurred among Paddington
residents during the year.