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Male Female
Ages 0-14 5-14 15-64 65 + 15-64 65 + TOTAL
Persons attending 3 33 138 816 438 3,168 4,596
Total attendances 4 120 939 4,159 1,689 17,258 24,169
Artificial Kidney Machines
The first application for a patient's home to be adapted for the purpose of home
dialysis was received by the Council from Dulwich Hospital in 1968. Towards the end of
1969 a second application was received, this time for a patient receiving treatment at
Guy's Hospital. By the end of December, arrangements were in hand for the patient and
her family to be moved from their Council home, rehoused in a nearby property with an
additional bedroom and for that bedroom to be adapted for home dialysis purposes.
The Mobile Health Clinic
In my report for 1968 I gave a brief outline of the pilot health survey of the general
public by means of a a mobile health clinic which had started operating on 18 November
1968. Now after one full year's work I am able to report more fully on the outcome of
this experiment which is described in pages 37—45.
It has been said in some quarters that health checks and screening techniques
attract only those showing traits of neurosis. This is not our experience in Southwark
since very few persons showed neurosis in this respect. People are genuinely interested in
their health—the pamphlet delivered to their home and later the "chat" with the health
visitor who calls, prepares the ground well. The main object is to catch diseases early and
we all realise that finding a disease early has immense advantages. A recent World Health
Organisation report states that present statistics indicate that more than 50% of all cancer
patients could be cured if the disease were diagnosed in its earliest stages and if prompt
and appropriate treatment were given.†
Reading some publications giving views on the so called scientific criteria for
screening and health checks, one can be completely steered away from doing simple
practical things. Many clear thinking people concerned are saying that if these criteria are
so why has there not been a campaign against the school health service-where regular
routine examinations and tests have been carried out for over 50 years—or against the
growth of occupational health services?
Evaluating this and other comprehensive screening surveys where the importance of
clinical history and examination have been realised and made the basis of investigation
together with suitable technological aids, it would appear that in any community a
substantial proportion of adult persons could be discovered who had some clinically
† Early Detection of Cancer-Report of W.H.O. Expert Committee.
W.H.O. Technical Report Series No.422
W.H.O. London: H.M.S.O. 1969.
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