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 1944
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Classification | Certified blind | Not blind | Grand total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Female | Total | Male | Female | Total | ||
| New cases | 157 | 270 | 427 | 51 | 73 | 124 | 551 |
| Prev. blind, still blind | 36 | 39 | 75 | — | — | — | 75 |
| Prev. not blind, now certified | 11 | 16 | 27 | — | — | 27 | |
| Prev. not blind, still not blind | — | — | — | 17 | 39 | 56 | 56 |
| Prev. blind, now not blind | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Total | 204 | 325 | 529 | 69 | 117 | 186 | 715 |
In addition 104 certificates (28 male and 76 female) submitted by voluntary
hospitals, outside authorities or private ophthalmologists were accepted as evidence
of blindness.
Twenty-four blind persons were examined as to suitability for training and 22
(12 male and 10 female) were found to be suitable.
The number of examinations made during the year was considerably below
the number of appointments for examination, as, during the flying-bomb attacks,
patients were not seen because either they did not attend County Hall, or, if a home
visit appointment was made, the medical officer found on arrival that the house
had been rendered uninhabitable or the tenants had left.
Midwives Acts, 1902 to 1936, nursing homes registration and contributions to
voluntary organisations for maternity and child welfare
Compared with 1943 there was a decrease in the total number of confinements
undertaken by the Council's domiciliary midwives.
The following are the figures for 1938, which was the first year of the Council's
domiciliary midwifery service and for the years 1943 and 1944 :—
Domiciliary
midwifery
service—
London
County
Council
midwivee
Maternity
nursinq cases
Midwifery
cases
Total
1938 449 2,924 3,373
1943 447 6,400 6,847
1944 406 5,518 5,924
The number of midwives employed at 31st December, 1944, was 114 compared
with 113 at the end of 1943, and in addition 6 were still lent to reception area authorities.
The average number of midwives employed in London throughout the year
(permanent and temporary) was 113, compared with 112.3 in 1943. The average
annual number of confinements undertaken by each midwife was approximately 53.
The reduction in the number of confinements compared with 1943 was due to
enemy attacks with VI and V2 bombs, which caused more women to go to the country
for their confinements. Twenty-two domiciliary midwives were lent to emergency
maternity homes in the country. The midwives remaining in London attended
the mothers in the same fearless and exemplary way as they did during the air raids
in 1940-41. Of 100 homes established by the midwives by May, 1944, no less than
12 were either totally destroyed or so severely damaged as to force the midwife to
leave, and 35 were severely damaged. In addition, many homes were damaged