London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

View report page

Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London

London County Council 1924

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]

This page requires JavaScript

Table: The following is an analysis of the corrected notifications in London during 1924 (53 weeks):—

The following is an analysis of the corrected notifications in London during 1924 (53 weeks):—

Form of tuberculosis notified.Sex.Notifications on Form A. (Total of primary notifications received in London boroughs, other than elementary school cases, infra.)
0-1-5-10-15-20-25-35-45-55-65 +Total.
Pulmonary tuberculosisM.652911173335198718347513871274,088
F.53293162425558909550346144653,289
Other tuberculosisM.282453261771045483494523121,146
F.20196215155938811548271712986
All forms of tuberculosisM.342974172944375731548837964101395,234
F.252283083175186461,024598373161774,275
Form of tuberculosis notified.Sex.Notifications on Form B. (Primary notifications of cases discovered through medical inspection in elementary schools.)Notifications on FormC. (Secondary notifications from institutions receiving cases.)
0-5-10 +Total.Poor I -aw.Other.
Pulmonary tuberculosisM.—1917161,1273,320
F.-67137681,822
Other tuberculosisM.3241946162629
F.3121429112505
All forms of tuberculosisM.33326621,2893,949
F.31821428802,327

Text

Copy text to clipboard

The Ministry of Health made an Order on 18th December 1924 (Public Health
(Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1924) supplementing the Orders of 1912 and 1921 relating
to tuberculosis. The new Order requires local medical officers of health to prepare
from the register of notified cases of tuberculosis a quarterly return showing the
number of cases on the register at the commencement and at the end of the quarter,
and the number added to and removed from registration during the same period.
So far as there is uniformity in the detection and notification of cases of tuberculosis
the returns made under this order will furnish a means of comparing the incidence
of the disease in different localities.
Cancer.
There were 6,483 deaths from cancer in 1924 as compared with 6,346 in 1923,
the death-rate per thousand living being 1.42, as against 1.39 in 1923, 1.33 in 1922
and 1.21 in the ten years 1911-20.
In the course of last year the Ministry of Health published a memorandum
(426, 14th August). See p. 39 of last year's report. In 1924 three further
memoranda on the subject of cancer were issued. Circular ii. (476, 6th March) deals
with the results obtained by radium treatment. Circular iii. (496, 19th May),
gives a general survey of the literature relating to operations for cancer of the breast
based upon a report prepared at the instance of the Ministry by Dr. Janet LaneClaypon.
This report was subsequently published by the Ministry (Reports on
Public Health and Medical Subjects, No. 28). Circular iv. (516, 31st July) contains
a memorandum by Dr. Murray, Director of the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, on
cancer research.
Dr. Janet Lane-Claypon's report on operations for breast cancer summarises
the records of some 20,000 operated cases, the conclusions reached being as follows:
(1) That after performance of the older or "incomplete" operation, out
of a net total of 7,029 patients, 2,956 or 29.2 per cent, were alive at the end
of three years after operation.
(2) That after performance of the modern or "complete" operation, out
of a net total of 8,921 patients, 3,857 or 43.2 per cent, were alive at the end of
three years after operation.
(3) That with the "complete" operation the prognosis is intensively
affected by the stage of the disease at which the patient is operated upon.