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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Metropolitan
Borough of Stoke Newington.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present the annual report for the year 1936, together
with statistical tables which will be found on pages 77-79. There
are certain points arising out of these tables to which I would
like to draw attention.
(1) Firstly it will be noticed that in Stoke Newington the
total number of cases presenting themselves for examination for
the first time and found to be suffering from tuberculosis was
66, but of these 23, or approximately one-third, were persons
who had contracted the disease elsewhere but had moved into
this area—the so-called "Transfer cases." Doubtless this high
proportion is due to a large extent to the additional housing
accommodation provided in Hackney and Stoke Newington, but
it has a direct bearing on the work of the Dispensary. It is
found as a matter of experience that those who have been under
treatment elsewhere are more hard to supervise than those who
have come under our observation from the start, and this necessitates
more strenuous efforts on the part of the Tuberculosis Visitors
and Tuberculosis Officer if we are to maintain efficient touch with
them. In this connection it is interesting to notice that in the
part of Hackney for which we are responsible, in 1920 there were
236 Primary Notifications, and only 114 in 1936. Were it not for
the influx from outside, the number of cases in the area would
have shown a greater decrease than it has done, even though it
must be admitted that several newcomers have taken up their
residence in private houses, and that their movements are not
dependent on official housing schemes.
(2) While in all the other sections the figures have remained
substantially the same, the number of contacts examined in Stoke
Newington has decreased from 132 in 1935, to 81 in 1936. This is
due to several reasons, partly to the fact that owing to the dwindling
size of families there are fewer contacts needing examination; but
also throughout the year it has been difficult in this Borough to
keep in touch with the homes of tuberculous persons. In 1936,
through illness and other causes, there were at different times four
nurses responsible for tuberculosis visiting, while there were several
periods when owing to the claims of other Public Health activities
a nurse was only available in cases of urgency. This resulted in a
serious lack of continuity of supervision, and while I realise that
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