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37
As vacancies have occurred, dental surgeons wholly employed by the Council
have been allocated to hospitals in London in place of part-time staff, and outlying
hospitals have been staffed by local part-time officers. The reduction of travelling
time will permit of full sessions being given at the outlying hospitals, and increases
in the number of sessions at these hospitals, which are mainly for children and
tuberculous patients, will enable more conservative treatment to be undertaken.
District medical service
The number of persons seen by district medical officers during 1938 was
66,451, being slightly larger than in 1937, and the number of domiciliary visits
increased by 790 to 73,772. There was a slight fall in the number of attendances
by patients at medical relief stations and surgeries to 240,634.
District nursinq

The number of diabetic cases receiving visits for insulin injections increased
from 523 in 1937 to 630 in 1938, with a consequent increase in the number of visits
to such patients from 106,462 to 132,528. The number of cases receiving general
nursing decreased from 2,742 in 1937 to 2,528 in 1938, while the number of visits
decreased from 101,428 to 92,248.
Oxygen therapy
The Council purchased a few oxygen tents in 1936, but the type proved unsatisfactory,
and an arrangement was made in November, 1937, to hire from a firm
another type of tent. This company supplies tents at a reasonable daily charge,
and every tent is assembled and put into operation by a technical assistant of the
company, who also examines it daily to ensure its satisfactory working, and to give
any instructions necessary to the staff. A twenty-four hour service is provided,
including Sundays and public holidays.
From November, 1937, to 31st December, 1938, 37 hospitals used 836 tents, the
largest number in use at any one time was 39, and the highest number in use at any
one hospital at the same time was 9. The tents have been entirely satisfactory
from the therapeutic point of view, particularly with young children suffering from
pneumonia and other lung conditions.
British Empire Cancer Campaign: clinical research scheme
The Clinical Cancer Research Committee, constituted in connection with the
British Empire Cancer Campaign, instituted some time ago a research into the
progress of the disease in patients suffering from cancer and into the results obtained
by the different methods of treatment adopted. Prior to the inception of this
research scheme, a complete system of following-up cancer patients had been
operated only in certain hospitals and in some cases the number of patients had
been limited and the records frequently imperfect. As a result, knowledge of the
course of the disease and of the relative value of alternative treatments was
incomplete.
The Clinical Cancer Research Committee desired to extend their enquiry to
cover all patients coming under treatment in the hospitals in London in order that
a reliable record might be obtained of the condition of each patient, of the treatment
received and of the progress of the patient throughout the remainder of his life.
As approximately one-third of the cancer patients coming under treatment in London
were admitted to the Council's general hospitals, the Council was asked to co-operate,
and agreed to do so.
Arrangements were made during the year for a record of each patient to be
kept on a standard form and for the patients to be followed-up after discharge.
The expenditure involved is being borne by the British Empire Cancer Campaign.