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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
Poplar 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Poplar, Metropolitan Borough]
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100
The causes of death of infants under one year of age are shown in the
Table on page 108.
OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM.
Notifications of Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
Forty-three cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum were notified during the year:—39 notified by doctors only, 1 by midwife only, and 3 by both doctors and midwives. The total notifications received numbered 50.
| Year. | Cases. | Vision unimpaired . | Vision impaired . | Total Blind ness. | Deaths | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Notified. | Treated. | ||||||
| At home. | In hospital. | ||||||
| 1914 | 75 | 70 | 5 | 73 | - | - | 2 |
| 1915 | 64 | 62 | 2 | 62 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1916 | 60 | 60 | — | 60 | - | — | — |
| 1917 | 39 ** | 37 | 1 | 36 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1918 | 40 | 38 | 2 | 39 | 1 | — | — |
| 1919 | 61 | 51 | 10 | 60 | 1 | — | — |
| 1920 | 61 | 51 | 10 | 59 | - | — | 2 |
| 1921 | 47 | 41 | 6 | 42 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| 1922 | 36 | 33 | 3 | 34 | 1 | — | 1 |
| 1923 | 38 | 30 | 8 | 35 | — | — | 3 |
| 1924 | 46 | 38 | 8 | 46 | — | — | — |
| 1925 | 44 | 39 | 5 | 42 | — | — | 2 |
| 1926 | 43 | 35 | 8* | 42 | — | - | 1 |
| Total | 654 | 585 | 68 | 630 | 7 | 1 | 15 |
**1 born in Institution—not visited, no information available.
*Including 3 which occurred in institutions
The Public Health (Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1926,
came into operation on 1st October, 1926. They revoke previous
Regulations and require medical practitioners only to notify cases of
ophthalmia neonatorum.
Miss J. M. Cardozo, Chief Health Visitor, reported as follows:—
Infant Consultations.—The total attendances at all Centres Public
Health Department and at the Royal College of St. Katharine, 55,557,
give an average attendance of over 1,000 per week, a large increase on
previous years.
The New Building in Simpsons Road has been fully appreciated.
The Mothers look upon it as their own and enjoy the large waiting room,
which is such a change after their overcrowded homes.