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56
During the year small canteens to supply light refreshments for out-patients
have been opened at Mile End and Dulwich Hospitals. It is intended when the
necessary facilities are available to open similar canteens at other hospitals where
the number of out-patients is considerable.
Research on
diseases of
old age
At the request of Dr. Trevor H. Howell, who has been awarded a grant by the
Nuffield Foundation for the purpose of conducting research into the diseases of old
people, facilities have been granted to enable him to do this work in one of the
Council's hospitals.
Hospitals
exhibition
An exhibition of the hospital services of the Council was held at the County
Hall from 21st to 26th January, 1946. As many aspects as possible of the wide
variety of work in the hospitals and allied services were shown by means of trained
demonstrators, pictures, posters, models and actual equipment. The main purpose of
the exhibition was to stimulate recruitment to the nursing and domestic staff of the
hospitals, and visits to the hospitals by persons interested were arranged to enable
them to see the actual working of the service. The Ministries of Health, Labour,
Information and Food, helped with advice and information, the Ministry of Food
supplying an exhibit. Films of public health interest were shown, and the valuable
co-operation of the B.B.C., the press and of many cinemas, which showed a slide
announcing the exhibition, was obtained.
The exhibition was opened by the Minister of Health and subsequently the
Minister of Labour performed the opening ceremony for a particular day. A number
of leading personalities of the stage and screen attended on various days. To ensure
the attendance of the right type of potential recruits, arrangements were made for
parties of schoolgirls to visit the exhibition, and women's youth organisations, the
British Red Cross Society, etc., also organised parties. Matrons from various of
the Council's hospitals were in attendance to interview prospective candidates for
the hospital service, and an information bureau was provided. Nearly 11,500
people attended the exhibition and over 2,000 enquiries about employment in the
hospitals were received. It is impossible to assess with any accuracy the value of
such an exhibition as it is mostly " long-term, " but the immediate results were
the recruitment of a certain number of staff.
Clinical
Research
Committee
The Clinical Research Committee met on six occasions during 1946. Among
the matters considered were:—
(1) Research work carried out at Council hospitals by the medical staff—
Level of vitamin A in the blood in cases of acute rheumatism.
Treatment of diabetes insipidus.
Iron compounds in the treatment of anaemia.
(2) Drugs or forms of treatment tried at hospitals—
Chemical test for the diagnosis of cancer.
U.F.I. (urea formic iodide) for treatment of infective wounds, burns, etc.
Anethaine.
Para-aminosalicylic acid in the treatment of tuberculosis.
(3) The effect of various dosages of penicillin in the treatment of syphilis in its
relationship to relapse (including an arrangement with the Ministry of
Pensions regarding the use of service medical cards of patients in the
Council's hospitals reported to have had treatment for syphilis whilst in the
services).
The Committee also considered the arrangements regarding the trials, sponsored
by the Medical Research Council, to be made of streptomycin at certain of the Council's
hospitals when supplies of the drug become available.
The sub-committees of the Clinical Research Committee continued to meet for
the purpose of carrying out special investigations. I mentioned in my report for
1945 that the medical officer of an eminent research laboratory had informed the
Council that initial tests of a whooping-cough serum had given promising results