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
St Pancras 1922
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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| Confinement attended by | No. of cases of Puerperal Fever. | Total number of births notified. | No. of cases per 1,000 births. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | 5 | 965 | 5.2 |
| Midwives from Institutions | — | 658 | – |
| Private Midwives | 3 | 904 | 3.3 |
| Medical Students | 2 | 959 | 2.1 |
| In Hospital | 1 | — | — |
OPHTHALMIA NEONATORUM.
Fifty-nine cases were notified in 1922, equal to 12.9 per 1,000 births. Forty-five of
these were notified by medical practitioners, 9 by midwives and 5 by both.
Seven of the cases were regarded as grave, 17 as moderate and 35 as slight. Seven of the
cases have since died (5 before recovery, and 2 since).
Five were illegitimate.
The cases are classified below according to the manner in which the mothers were attended at their confinement.
| Confinement attended by | No. of eases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum. | Total number of births notified. | No. of cases per 1,000 births. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | 5 | 965 | 5.2 |
| Midwives from Institutions | 15 | 658 | 22.8 |
| Private Midwives | 14 | 904 | 15.5 |
| Medical Students | 13 | 959 | 13.6 |
| In Hospitals and Institutions | 12 | — | — |
Every case was visited on the day of the receipt of notification. 12 cases were removed
to hospital, and 44 were treated at home, with the help of a visiting nurse in 25 cases. In 3
other cases the patient was treated at home at first with the help of a visiting nurse and afterwards
removed to hospital.
The results of treatment were as follows:—
Complete recovery (2 of these died later) 54
Died before recovery 5
Sight damaged Nil
MEASLES AND GERMAN MEASLES.
These diseases are compulsorily notifiable in St. Pancras in virtue of the Metropolitan
Boroughs of Lambeth and St. Pancras (Measles and German Measles) Regulations, 1920. All
cases are notifiable by parents and guardians, but only the first case occurring in an outbreak
in a household or institution is notifiable by medical practitioners, an interval of two months
since the last case constituting an outbreak.
Subject to correction for diagnosis in certain instances 3,728 cases of measles and
253 of german measles were notified or otherwise discovered in 1922. This represents an
incidence rate of 17.5 per 1,000 population for measles and 1.19 for german. measles.
107 deaths from measles were registered during the year, equal to a death-rate of
0.50 per 1,000 population, and a case mortality of 2.9 per cent. amongst notified cases.
Of these deaths 15 were of children under one and 96 of children under five. There were
no deaths from german measles.