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 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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49
Tuberculosis Care Committee has no funds; all assistance has to be accomplished indirectly
through various societies, institutions, ete.
It has also been the duty of the Committee to make inquiries in relation to the
assessment of the sums payable by patients for residential treatment provided for them by the
London County Council.
PUERPERAL FEYER.
Twenty cases were notified during the year, equal to an incidence rate of 4.6 per 1,000
births.
Fourteen cases followed the births of living children, five the birth of a dead foetus,
and one followed a septic miscarriage.
Ten of the patients were primiparae (women who had not previously had children), and
ten were multipara}.
Eighteen cases were treated in hospitals and two at home.
A "handy woman" was present in eight cases, and an assistant trained nurse in seven
cases. Instruments were used in ten cases.
Of the total 20 cases, nine proved fatal, giving a case mortality of 45 per cent. One
death followed a septic miscarriage, one the birth of a dead child, and seven followed the birth
of living children. Of the total nine deaths, two were of unmarried mothers.
In the following table the oases are classified according to the manner in which the patients were attended in their confinements:—
| Confinement attended by | Total Number of Births Notified. | Number of Cases of Puerperal Fever. | Rate per 1000 Births. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doctors | 940 | 10 | 10.6 | ||
| Institution Midwives | 501 | 2 | 4.0 | ||
| Private Midwives | 822 | 6 | 7.3 | ||
| Medical Students | 946 | 2 | 2.1 | ||
EPIDEMIC CEREBROSPINAL MENINGITIS.
Two cases were notified during the year, both of which proved fatal. The diagnosis in
each case was verified by bacteriological examination.
The particulars were as follows:—
H. S., male, aged 4 months. Onset 27th February. Admitted to hospital 5tli March.
Notified 17th March. Died on 27th April.
J. W., male, aged 2} years. Onset 4th October. Admitted to hospital 6th October.
Notified 10th October. Died on 9tli October.
No source of infection was discovered. In each case the room and bedding were disinfected.