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 1931
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Attendances.
Importance is attached to the necessity for securing the regular attendance of
patients at the clinics, more especially in the case of gonorrhœa, and efforts to secure
the requisite provision of facilities for intermediate treatment at times other than
during the hours when the medical officer attends 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 them from one clinic to another continues to
receive careful attention.
In past years the ratio of attendances has been stated as so many attendances
to each new case of V.D. admitted to the clinics during the year. By this means
an estimate, comparable year by year, is obtained of the efficiency of the work as
measured by the continued attendance. For the year 1931 the total attendances of
V.D. patients was 858,031, and the ratio of attendances of V.D. patients to new
V.D. cases was 57, compared with 46 in 1930 and 44 in 1929, thus showing a considerable
increase in attendances per case.
Comparative figures for the fifteen years during which the scheme has been in force are shown in the following table:—
| Year. | New cases. | Total. | Total attendances (venereal and non-venereal) | In-patients days. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venereal. | Non-venereal | ||||
Attention is also drawn to the very large number of non-venereal patients who
present themselves for examination. This appears to indicate quite clearly that the
general public is appreciating more and more the efforts which have been, and are
being, made to spread far and wide a knowledge of the serious nature and grave
after-effects of the venereal diseases.
Pathology
and
bacteriology.
Another point worthy of note is the total number of examinations made of
pathological specimens. Comparative figures for the fifteen years are shown in the
following table:—
Year.
Pathological examinations.
from treatment centres. From medical practitioners.
1917 13,988 3,649
1918 25,973 6,380
1919 51,554 10,464
1920 58,920 14,027
1921 66,134 18,472
1922 74,022 19,836
1923 69,784 24,403
1924 79,005 24,797
1925 106,064 26,346
1926 100,543 27,565
1927 107,512 27,046
1928 107,410 29,785
1929 114,840 32,605
1930 125,177 33,309
1931 161,092 35,498