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 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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minimising cardiac disablement. The condition on admission of the cases admitted during 1953 was as follows :
| Articular Rheumatism | Boys | Girls |
|---|---|---|
| No. admitted | 63 | 72 |
| Percentage with: Carditis | 25.4 | 15.3 |
| Valvular damage: | ||
| Mitral | 30.2 | 13.9 |
| Mitral and aortic | 4.7 | 4.2 |
| No cardiac involvement | 39.7 | 66.6 |
| Chorea | ||
| No. admitted | 16 | 23 |
| Percentage with: | ||
| Carditis | 12.5 | 13.0 |
| Valvular damage: | ||
| Mitral | — | 13.0 |
| No cardiac involvement | 87.5 | 74.0 |
| Articular Rheumatism and Chorea | ||
| No. admitted | 1 | 0 |
| Percentage with: | ||
| No cardiac involvement | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Of the 165 cases discharged during the year, 135 (81.8 per cent.) were able to take
up normal school life or active employment. There were 2 deaths and 8 who proved
to be unfit for school or work, leaving a balance of 20 (12.1 per cent.) who were fit
either for light work or continued education at a special school for physically handicapped
children. In this latter group, the percentage of boys affected is slightly higher than
that of the girls (14.3 per cent. to 10.5 per cent.) whereas in the other groups the number
of girls affected is slightly higher:
Sex
Fit for ordinary
school or ordinary
employment
Fit for P.H.
school or light
employment
Unfit for school
or work
Died
Total
No. Percentage
No. Percentage
No. Percentage
No. Percentage
Boys 56 80.0 10 14.3 3 4.3 1 1.4 70
Girls 79 83.2 10 10.5 5 5.3 1 1.0 95
Total 135 81.8 20 12.1 8 4.9 2 1.2 165
It is interesting to note that the percentage of cases with cardiac involvement has
once again fallen slightly, though the fall is less marked than in the two previous years :
1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953
67.3 66.7 68.4 60.3 62.4 67.7 70.2 51.7 60.8 49.1 43.7 41.2
The follow-up of the cases after discharge from hospital by school doctors and rheumatism supervisory centres still continues to be an important integral part of the scheme:
| 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of children under supervision of school doctors on 31st December | 306 | 186 | 177 | 166 |
| Number of children under supervision at rheumatism supervisory centres on 31st December | 2,790 | 2,696 | 2,218 | 2,346 |
| Number of supervisory centres | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 |
| Number of sessions at supervisory centres | 930 | 905 | 877 | 840 |
| Number of children attending for first time | 1,224 | 1,100 | 971 | 959 |
| Total number in attendance at centres | 10,088 | 9,202 | 7,988 | 6,936 |