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60
CHEST CLINICS
There are three Chest Clinics in Westminster situated at the following addresses:—
Paddington Chest Clinic, 14-18 Newton Road, W.2. (BAY 8821)
St. Marylebone Chest Clinic, Town Hall, Marylebone Road, W.1. (WEL 7766)
Westminster Hospital Chest Clinic, 1 Ebury Bridge Road, S.W.1. (SLO 3883)
I am indebted to the Consultant Physician at each of these Clinics for the following reports of
their activities during 1966:—
Paddington Chest Clinic—Dr. P. A. Zorab, Consultant Physician
The improvements to the X-Ray Department and patients' waiting facilities which were made by
the North West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board last year have greatly assisted in the care of
patients now attending this Clinic.
There has been little alteration in the level of work and the problem of tuberculosis in this area
continues to have special features in that many of the immigrants are grossly overcrowded and a
large number of them only stay a short time. Consequently any new case may spread the infection
rapidly unless it is discovered in good time.
The work aimed at eradicating tuberculosis continues by holding regular B.C.G. Clinics, by
providing an X-Ray Service for General Practitioners and by the careful follow up of tuberculin
positive school children.
As the increased facilities which become available following the linking of this Clinic with
Brompton Hospital have become more widely known there has been an increase in the number of
less common cases of chest disease referred to the Clinic. These, together with the numbers of
patients seen here suffering from bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, lung cancer and acute infections,
make up the bulk of the work done. Post Graduate and Nursing Teaching has become a regular
feature of clinic work.
Plans for additional research to be carried out at this Clinic have been placed before the Regional
Board and it is hoped to start these in the Autumn.
St. Marylebone Chest Clinic—Dr. G. Shneerson, Physician in Charge
The notification figures at this Clinic for new cases of tuberculosis for 1966 were similar to those
of 1965. The number of notified deaths from carcinoma of the lung is also essentially similar to
1965.
The work of the Clinic continues to be concerned not only with tuberculosis, but also with other
non-tuberculous chest diseases.
Westminster Hospital Chest Clinic—Dr. P. A. Emerson, Consultant Physician
So far as the Westminster Hospital Chest Clinic was concerned there was no fall in the incidence
of tuberculosis during the year ended 31 st December, 1966; sixty-eight new cases of tuberculosis
were notified (49 males; 14 females and 5 children).
Eleven of the new cases of tuberculosis were referred to Westminster Hospital Chest Clinic by
their general practitioners; four were discovered by the mass x-ray service and 49 were referred by
various hospitals and other mass x-ray units. Three hundred and forty-three contacts of patients
with tuberculosis were examined and five of the children were found to be suffering from
tuberculosis.
Most of the newly notified male patients came from the common lodging houses. The regular
visits of the South West London Mass X-Ray Unit to these lodging houses have been continued
and again in 1966 two special surveys were carried out at Bruce House, one of the common lodging
houses in the City of Westminster.