London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
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]
This page requires JavaScript
91
to 30,035, while domiciliary visits decreased from 13,475 to 10,916 due no doubt to
a mild winter. Hospital admissions dropped from 754 to 501.
The service was carried out from 89 medical relief districts (46 north of the river
and 43 south). Eleven of these districts were served by London County Council
whole-time medical staff and the remaining 78 by part-time general practitioners in
contract with the Council.
District medical service—statistics for period 1st January to 31st March, 1948
By part-time By hospital
general medical
practitioners officers
Medical relief districts served 78 11
Doctors attending at relief stations 40 11
Doctors attending at surgeries 33 —
Attendances at relief stations or surgeries 30,035 (26,175)
Domiciliary visits 13,475 (10,916)
Persons seen 16,308 (15,287)
Persons admitted to hospital 501 (754)
During the period 1st January to 4th July, 1948, examinations were made in the Group Laboratory and in the subsidiary laboratories at the hospitals and institutions. These tests may be grouped broadly as:—
| Classification | Number of tests | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| In group laboratory | In subsidiary laboratories | ||
| Bacteriological | 9,866 | 12,776 | 22,642 |
| Wasserman and parallel tests | 7,153 | — | 7,153 |
| Biochemical | 1,360 | 3,026 | 4,386 |
| Histological | 129 | 97 | 226 |
| Other pathological | 3,311 | 14,708 | 18,019 |
| Skin tests | 306 | 1,637 | 1,943 |
| Miscellaneous | 22 | 114 | 134 |
| Total | 22,145 | 32,358 | 54,503 |
Laboratory
work
Bacteriological tests for typhoid and dysenteric infections again form the
largest single group—16,317 in number.
THE HOSPITAL SERVICE 1930-1948
On 5th July, 1948, under the provisions of the National Health Service Act, the
Council's hospitals passed to the care of the Regional Hospital Boards, and it is
fitting, in this last report on the service, that some account should be given of their
history and development. Until the Council took over these hospitals from the
Metropolitan Asylums Board and Boards of Guardians on 1st April, 1930, its sole
hospital responsibility had been for mental hospitals.
On that date the Central Public Health Committee was entrusted with the
administrative control of 63 hospitals, one children's home and 12 institutions
formerly managed by 26 different authorities. One authority, the Metropolitan
Asylums Board, controlled 33 of these hospitals but most of the Boards of Guardians
had control of only one hospital each. Transferred with these hospitals was a staff
of about 20,000 persons ranging from boy messengers and domestic assistants to
medical superintendents and chief medical officers of groups of hospitals. On the
same date, the Mental Hospitals Committee took over the administration of six
transferred mental hospitals.
In the nature of things it was obvious that to effect a smooth transfer no hasty
changes of procedure should be made, and the first consideration was that the
hospitals should continue to function without interruption. Few people can have