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
London County Council 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Year. | Syphilis. | Gonorrhoea. | Soft chancre. | Non-venereal. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1924 | 6,626 | 11,350 | 305 | 7,292 | 25,573 |
| 1925 | 5,902 | 11,321 | 279 | 8,680 | 26,182 |
| Increase + | |||||
| or decrease — | — 724 | -29 | -26 | + 1,388 | + 609 |
The distribution of new cases of venereal disease between the sexes is shown
in the following table, the figures for the preceding years being given for comparison.
It will be seen that in the case of syphilis the figures for 1925 are the lowest recorded since the scheme first came into operation.
| Year. | New cases. | Total venereal cases. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Syphilis. | Soft chancre. | Gonorrhoea. | ||||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | |
| 1917 | 4,427 | 3,351 | 199 | 11 | 3,830 | 1,207 | 8,456 | 4,569 |
| 1918 | 3,764 | 3,002 | 116 | 13 | 4,844 | 1,940 | 8,724 | 4,955 |
| 1919 | 6,394 | 3.391 | 463 | 18 | 10,441 | 2,440 | 17,298 | 5,849 |
| 1920 | 6,988 | 3,579 | 766 | 25 | 10,669 | 2,427 | 18,423 | 6,031 |
| 1921 | 5,088 | 3,100 | 458 | 13 | 8,573 | 2,136 | 14,119 | 5,249 |
| 1922 | 4,207 | 2,600 | 309 | 12 | 8,233 | 2,402 | 12,749 | 5,014 |
| 1923 | 4,497 | 2,631 | 311 | 4 | 9,043 | 2,520 | 13,851 | 5,155 |
| 1924 | 4,174 | 2,452 | 301 | 4 | 8,565 | 2,785 | 13,040 | 5,241 |
| 1925 | 3,556 | 2,346 | 268 | 11 | 8,464 | 2,857 | 12,288 | 5,214 |
Importance is attached to the necessity of securing the regular attendance
of patients at the clinics, more especially in the case of gonorrhoea, and efforts
to secure the requisite provision of facilities for intermediate treatment at times
other than during the hours of the clinic are meeting with considerable success.
A number of patients still fail to complete the full course of treatment considered
necessary before final discharge, due in no small measure to the false impression that
a cure has been effected on the disappearance of outward signs of the disease. The
need for improving conditions likely to cause patients to discontinue attendance
at the clinics or to transfer from one clinic to another continues to receive careful
attention.
Ratio of
attendances.
country. Comparative figures for the nine years the scheme has been in force are shown in the following table :—
| Year. | New cases. | Total. | Attendances. | In-patient days. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venereal. | Non-venereal. | ||||
| 1917 | 13,025 | 2,360 | 15,385 | 120,659 | 63,923 |
| 1918 | 13,679 | 2,693 | 16,372 | 169,485 | 66,095 |
| 1919 | 23,147 | 5,118 | 28,265 | 307,722 | 73,211 |
| 1920 | 24,454 | 6,592 | 31,046 | 464,033 | 81,612 |
| 1921 | 19,368 | 6,050 | 25.418 | 496,209 | 79,692 |
| 1922 | 17,763 | 5,950 | 23,713 | 529,003 | 112,564 |
| 1923 | 19,006 | 6,644 | 25,650 | 555,509 | 106,662 |
| 1924 | 18,281 | 7,292 | 25,573 | 589,002 | 102,456 |
| 1925 | 17,502 | 8,680 | 26,182 | 646.131 | 102,454 |