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pulmonary tuberculosis found has at the same time risen to 1.66 per
thousand. This is to be expected as a large proportion of the people
attending are x-rayed for the first time.
Conditions needing medical advice, other than pulmonary tuberculosis
are also discovered, and the persons concerned are therefore able to have
treatment at an early stage of the illness thus greatly improving the
prognosis—other conditions discovered include carcinoma of the lung,
acute inflammatory condition, bronchiectasis, pneumoconiosis and
certain cardiac conditions.
A report on patch testing and B.C.G. vaccination of school children
is given in the Appendix to this report.
LABORATORY SERVICES
The Public Health Department is the collection centre for specimens
submitted for laboratory examination by general practitioners in Hornsey
and containers are obtainable from the department during office hours—
9 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Saturdays.
Specimens received in the department are collected by a messenger
from the laboratory at 3 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. on Saturdays
but they may be sent direct by doctors to the laboratory at Coppetts
Wood Hospital any time before 5 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays and
12 noon on Saturdays. The Central Public Health Laboratory at
Colindale maintains a twenty-four hour emergency service.
The Public Health Laboratory service is under the direction of the
Medical Research Council on behalf of the Ministry of Health and the
assistance of the technical staff" is available to the department in connection
with outbreaks of infectious diseases in the Borough.
Copies of bacteriological reports on Hornsey patients are sent to the
Medical Officer of Health and the following is a summary of reports
made during 1956:—
Faeces 522
Nose and Throat 10
Sputum 14
Per Nasal 4
Rectal swab 1
11