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42
1,493 part-time) were employed. From 5th July to 31st December, 11,302 cases were
given home help assistance. At the end of the year, the service was providing about
2,000,000 hours per year, approximately four times the amount in 1946.
Welfare
oentres
IMMUNISATION and VACCINATION
Diphtheria immunisation
The practice instituted by the metropolitan borough councils of having special
diphtheria immunisation sessions at infant welfare centres has been continued
and in addition immunisation, when necessary, has been given in the course of
normal infant welfare sessions without special appointment.
Schools
The arrangements outlined in my report for 1940 were continued up to the 4th
July, and the significant drop in the number of cases of diphtheria reported from
schools has been maintained. Immunisation up to that date was carried out on behalf
of the metropolitan borough councils by school doctors in twenty-one boroughs and
the number of children who received a course of prophylactic injections in the schools
under these arrangements was 2,275. The number of children immunised in schools
by the school medical staffs since the issue of the Ministry of Health Circular in 1940
up to the end of June, 1948, was 85,141 and 8,930 "boosting" doses were given.
Since the operation of the National Health Service Act, when the Council became the
Local Authority for Immunisation, the arrangements for this work at welfare centres
and at schools have been merged.
The attention of teaching staff was again drawn to the importance of urging
the parents of school children to consent to diphtheria immunisation, in order to
ensure that everything possible was being done to maintain a high level of immunity
among the school population.
General
practitioners
General practitioners are invited to take part in the Council scheme as many
parents prefer the family doctor to immunise their children. Under this scheme the
family doctor is paid a fee for completing the record of immunisation when this is
returned to the Council. The Ministry of Health, through their Public Health Laboratory
Service, make available, free of charge, A.P.T. and T.A.F. and the Council
supplies these materials to general practitioners taking part in the scheme.
Statistics
The total number of children immunised at the infant welfare centres, at schools
or by General Practitioners from July to the end of the year was 27,024, and in addition
5,078 " boosting " doses were given.
Table 18, p. 126, shows the number of infants in London who, at the end of
1948, had received a course of diphtheria immunisation injections. This table also
shows the number of cases and deaths occurring in immunised and unimmunised
children. Perhaps the most important fact is that, out of the 15 deaths from diphtheria
occurring among children, none occurred among the immunised.
As to the extent of immunisation, it will be seen that, according to these records
the proportions are:—
Number
Age Population immunised Per cent.
0-4 269,923 138,823 51.4
5-14 359,544 228,346 63.5
Total 629,467 367,169 58.3
There are reasons for believing these figures to be an understatement. In the
early years of the campaign the metropolitan borough councils found it difficult to
maintain complete records. It is in particular unlikely that they received complete
records of children immunised whilst evacuated from London. On the other hand,
records obtained at routine medical inspections at schools indicate that 83.1 per
cent. of school children claimed to be immunised. This latter figure is equally likely