London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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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
Tower Hamlets 1972
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tower Hamlets, London Borough]
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Should the reports reveal any medical defects inheritable disease or handicap in the
child- further enquiries are made and- in the case of inheritable disease in the natural
parents the prospective parents are interviewed by their own practitioner.
Boarding Out
The medical examination is given in accordance with the Boarding Out of Children
Regulations, 1955, and includes the Wasserman and/or Kahn tests except where the child is
over school leaving age or is boarded out in an emergency or in accordance with Part III
of the Regulations. Again the results of these medical examinations are scrutinised in the
Health Department and the Director of Social Services informed as to their suitability.
The following is a summary of the cases dealt with from 1968-1972
| Adoption Cases | 1972 | 1971 | 1970 | 1969 | 1968 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children suitable for adoption | 14 | 20 | 25 | 33 | 37 |
| Children suitable for adoption subject to certain conditions | - | - | - | - | - |
| Children unsuitable for adoption | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Couples suitable to adopt children | 29 | 48 | 23 | 39 | 36 |
| Couples unsuitable to adopt children | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 |
| Boarding Out Cases | |||||
| Children suitable for boarding out | 39 | 34 | 44 | 44 | 33 |
CERVICAL CYTOLOGY
The service for the collection of cervical smears for cytology investigation by
hospital authorities continued during the year with sessions in the Council's clinics.
In addition, a general practitioner continued holding regular sessions in his surgery,
assisted by a member of the staff of the Health Department, and the Family Planning
Association continued taking smears at sessions held in Council clinics. Examinations
were also carried out at a Centre of employment in the Borough. From these 2,176
examinations were carried out. In addition hospitals in the area read 12,603 slides
and although al1 the latter did not refer to borough residents it can be assumed that the
majority did.
Details will be found on page 60,
CONGENITAL DEFECTS
Notification of congenital abnormalities under the national scheme recommended by
the Ministry of Health in 1963 continued throughout the year. Defects found in stillborn
and 1iveborn children within 36 hours of birth were noted on birth notification forms by
hospital or domiciliary staff, details of which are as follows:-
Number of babies notified as having one
or more congenital defects 38
Number of stillbirths and livebirths
notified over the same period 2,010
The rate of notification per 1,000 total births was 18.9 compared with 13.7 last year.
There are obvious difficulties in assessing the real incidence of congenital defects
under such a voluntary scheme, but some help does flow in maintaining observation registers
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