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 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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General Section
| Year | Miles run | Persons conveyed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patients | Relatives of patients, staff, etc. | Total | ||
| 1938 | 1,930,172 | 217,908 | 102,520 | 320,428 |
| 1945 | 1,348,342 | 131,788 | 97,805* | 229,593 |
| 1946 | 1,633,813 | 160,074 | 127,706* | 287,780 |
| 1947 | 1,768,550 | 182,206 | 129,599* | 311,805 |
| 1948 | 2,072,545 | 239,157 | 130,335* | 369,492 |
*Includes domiciliary midwives and medical officers and nurses conveyed between hospitals and
outlying nurses' homes because former staff quarters were destroyed by enemy action.
Removals carried out on behalf of the Council under agency arrangements between 5th July, 1948, and 31st December, 1948:—
| Patients carried | Mileage | |
|---|---|---|
| Home Service Ambulance Department of the Joint Committee of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the British Red Cross Society | 5,454 | 204,048 |
| County of London Hospital Car Service | 30,052 | 430,121 |
| City of London Police Ambulance Service | 907 | 2,546 |
| West Ham Ambulance Service | 37 | 469 |
PREVENTION OF ILLNESS, CARE AND AFTER-CARE
Treatment of Tuberculosis
Responsibility for providing treatment for tuberculous persons in London
passed to the four metropolitan regional hospital boards on 5th July, 1948, and most
of the statistics which follow refer to the period 1st January to 4th July, 1948.
During the first half of the year 3,596 recommendations were made for residential
treatment and on 4th July 3,302 adults and 697 children were occupying beds under
the tuberculosis scheme compared with 3,047 and 689 respectively on 31st December,
1947. Detailed statistics will be found on page 53.
Residential
treatment
The number of cases of tuberculosis on the notification registers at 31st December,
1948, was 36,809 compared with 35,077 at the end of 1947, and 30,091 at the end of
1938.
Dispensary
service
Before the "appointed day" the tuberculosis dispensaries were staffed by
tuberculosis officers, tuberculosis visitors, social workers and clerks appointed by
the metropolitan borough councils. Since 5th July, 1948, the tuberculosis officers
have been appointed jointly by the metropolitan regional hospital boards and the
Council, and they devote 3/11th of their time, as officers of the Council, to prevention,
care and after-care. The remainder of their time, as officers of regional hospital
boards they devote to the treatment of patients. Other staff, with the exception
of the personal clerical assistants to the tuberculosis officers, are full-time officers
of the Council.
Staffing
Extra nourishments are provided for tuberculous persons on the recommendation
of the tuberculosis officer, a charge being made in accordance with a scale of assessment
approved by the Council.
The application of this scale to tuberculous persons receiving national assistance
would normally entail their paying the full cost, since the monetary allowances from
the National Assistance Board would as a rule exceed the maximum income entitling
the recipient to free extra nourishment under the Council's scale. The Council,
therefore, decided that it would be in the interest of persons receiving national
assistance to obtain their extra nourishments out of the allowances granted to them
by the National Assistance Board. Special allowances are given by that Board to
Extra
nourishment
for
tuberculous
persons