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 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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Registration of nursing homes
Table (i)-
| 1959 | 1960 | 1961 | 1962 | 1963 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Registered at beginning of year | 37 | 34 | 33 | 36 | 36 |
| New homes registered | 1 | - | 5 | 1 | - |
| Homes registered on change of keeper | 2 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 |
| Registrations cancelled- voluntary closure or change of keeper | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Registered at end of year | 34 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 34 |
| Inspections: | |||||
| Medical officers | 42 | 35 | 46 | 45 | 39 |
| Public health inspectors | 63 | 84 | 122 | 116 | 125 |
| Homes exempted from registration | 38 | 40 | 37 | 35 | 35 |
Table (ii)—
| Number of beds in homes | Number of homes | Number of beds provided | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maternity* | Others† | Mentally disordered | Total | ||
| 25 or over | 10 | 133 | 242‡ | 204 | 579 |
| 20 to 24 | 6 | 25 | 83 | 22 | 130 |
| 15 to 19 | 7 | 17 | 85 | 17 | 119 |
| 10 to 14 | 8 | 12 | 87 | - | 99 |
| 5 to 9 | 2 | 9 | 6 | - | 15 |
| Under 5 | 1 | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| Total | 34 | 196 | 506 | 243 | 945 |
* Each bed is registered for a maternity, medical or surgical case.
‡ Numbers include beds for medical and surgical patients which cannot be used if a maternity patient is
accommodated in the same room.
‡ Number includes 61 beds registered for medical or mentally disordered cases.
Invalid Meals for London
No change took place in the administrative control of this service during the year, since
the Metropolitan Boroughs Standing Joint Committee had come to no final decision with
regard to its transfer to borough councils. The service continued to be operated by the
School Meals and Catering department, which had effected many improvements in vans and
equipment.
The number of meals served during recent years was as follows:
1959/60 1960/1 1961/2 1962/3 1963/4
Meals served 172,637 180,291 196,695 202,430 239,814
Welfare Committee establishments
The medical supervision of all types of establishments under the control of the Welfare
Committee continued.
The number of designated chronic sick in welfare homes has remained fairly constant.
The average age of the residents is still rising and remains higher for women (79 years)
than for men (75 years). The health of the chronic sick and the other illnesses of an ageing
population require the constant attention of the medical and other staff and the visiting
medical officers for these homes have a particular knowledge of and interest in the medical
needs of the aged. The work is very time consuming because of the large number of elderly
people on the doctor's list; special investigations have to be arranged and preventive measures
carried out in order to maintain as high a standard of health within the home as possible.
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