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 1929

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

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10
friends of the patients was 57 less than the number on 1st January, 1929. The number
of cases in the institutions of the Metropolitan Asylums Board on 1st January,
1930, is once more the lowest recorded since 1890.
Metropolitan
Asylums
Board's
accommodation.
24. During 1929, 25 male and 1 female patients of a kind eligible for detention
in the Metropolitan Asylums Board's mental hospitals were transferred from London
County mental hospitals to the Board's care, and the London County mental hospitals
received, by transfer from the Board's institutions, 8 male and 12 female patients.
Applications
for beds.
Applications for admission.
25. The applications for beds for cases of insanity received from the relieving
officers in the County of London and dealt with during each month of the period
1919-1930 are shown in table 7 below. This table, as we have pointed out in previous
years, has some value as an indication whether there is any actual increase in the
incidence of mental unsoundness in the county. The figures give the total applications
made each month, of which a certain number (between 4 and 5 per cent.) were
withdrawn for one reason or another. The figures therefore do not represent the
total number of cases actually admitted to a London County mental hospital. It
will be noted that the number of applications is 71 less than last year.

Table: Table 7.

Table 7.

1919-201920-211921-221922-231923-211924-251925-2c1920-271927-28| 1928-291929-30
April303294242 †267263243256297244 †265310
May347*303324*337*328265329270274308352*
June314347*274275303265266304309306269
July327308323272333*338*340*340*280366*319
August317292263300297252238265303318292
September265261257282238237273267283302279
October270298287233†278275287245†250275322
November217†231 †242†261289236†228†276260286258
December228287286291256300294295291287253
January316302278286297297248320293303296
February286279252287266266314253300254†225 †
March336292280302211 †275319276321*265289
Total3,5263,4943,3083,3933,3593,2493,3923,4083,4083,5353,464
Monthly average293291275282280270282284284294288

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• Highest in each year.
t Lowest in each year.
Former
patients
readmitted
after being
discharged
41 recovered.'
Reatlmissions.
26. The total number of patients who were readmitted to the London County
mental hospitals during the year ended 31st March, 1930, after having been discharged
"recovered" from one or other of the London County mental hospitals, was 354.
Of this number 84 were readmitted within twelve months of the date of their
discharge.
27. Statistics as to recoveries and readmissions during the past 35 years are
as in Table 8.
28. Records have been kept of readmissions since 1895 and the figures relating
to the five hospitals which were in existence then are quite consistent. From these
it appears that of the discharges " recovered " more than thirty per cent, have
relapsed sooner or later after discharge and about eleven per cent, within twelve
months after discharge.