View report page

DIVISION 7, comprising the boroughs of Camberwell and Lewisham
Dr. Ann Mower White reports:
Premises—The South East London General Practitioners' Centre was opened officially
on 16 February, 1961, in adapted premises in part of the Queen's Road Centre, St. Mary's
Road, S.E.15.
The Bellingham welfare centre, opened in September, 1960 in the Estate Community
Centre, Bellingham Green, S.E.6, attained some publicity in the local press. Initial attendances
were poor and the possibility of its discontinuance was raised in the Divisional
Health Committee early in the year. Representations for its retention were made in the
local press and by the end of the year attendances had sufficiently improved to justify
continuing the centre.
It was regrettable to note an appreciable increase in unauthorised entries to centres and
day nurseries. Such entries used to be frequent in the early post war years, when short
supply foodstuffs were an attraction; of late they had become rare. During the year there
were ten entries, mainly into nurseries. There were minor thefts, probably the work of
juveniles, and in two instances wanton damage of foodstuffs and materials. The police
investigated each entry.
Diphtheria—An outbreak of diphtheria centred in a school in North Camberwell had
commenced in mid-December, 1960, as described in my report for that year. Home
swabbings had been carried out for the pupils of the two classes affected; in the New Year
swabbings were extended to cover other pupils from the school and special immunisation
sessions were held at the school during the holidays. When the school reopened, swabbing
and immunisation was continued systematically, over 950 injections being given. Further
positive carriers were discovered and their contacts were followed up in conjunction with
the borough medical officer of health. Two other schools were involved through contacts
but they produced only one further positive swabbing, which was non-toxic. Precautions
were taken with all pupils discharged from hospital to ensure that they showed a further
negative swab result before returning to school. In all, 37 children were admitted to
hospital, of whom 13 were clinical cases. As previously reported, the organism (C. diphtheria
mitis) that caused this outbreak produced some severe attacks of the classical type,
and one little girl aged seven years died on 7 January, 1961; she was unimmunised. The
outbreak received much publicity in the press, radio and television news; as a result
attendances at immunisation sessions throughout the division increased considerably.
There was a further mild outbreak among the pupils in the nursery class and infants
department of the same school, which lasted from 1-24 July, 1961. The divisional staff
carried out swabbings and immunisation at the school and the borough council took
similar action with home contacts.
A further outbreak caused by a different type of organism made itself known early in
May, 1961 in a school in the Dulwich area of Camberwell, the same routine of swabbing
and follow-up was operated as in the previous outbreak. Because of a home contact, a
class at a senior girls school in Peckham was also swabbed. Five cases of diphtheria were
reported—two pupils at the original school, one senior girl contact, one parent contact and
one pre-school child contact. None proved serious. There were also 14 carriers. The incident
was closed early in June, 1961 when all swabbings had produced two negative results.
Day nurseries—The number of places at Shaftesbury House day nursery was reduced
from 50 to 35. The upper floor was thus released for use by young subnormal children, as
described below. At the other nurseries there has been a consistently high level of occupation.
The pressure has been felt particularly in the four Camberwell nurseries and proposals
are in hand to increase their accommodation, as part of the replacement schemes for
Peckham Park Road and Wyndham Road nurseries.
106