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
Marylebone 1923
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
53
Ophthalmia Neonatorum.
This disease—inflammation of the eyes in newly-born children—made notifiable by order of the London County Council in 1911, continued to be so during the whole of 1923. The following table gives information with regard to the 16 cases notified.
| Notified. | Cases Treated. | Vision Unimpaired. | Vision Impaired. | Total Blindness. | Deaths. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home. | At Hospital. | |||||
| 16 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 2 | - | - |
Nurses were sent in to 5 cases and 100 visits were paid. Three of the patients
notified as suffering from ophthalmia died of some other condition.
INFLUENZA.
This disease showed no epidemic tendencies during the year. The deaths
certified as due to Influenza numbered 15 as against 43 in 1922.
PNEUMONIA.
Figures with regard to notification will be found on page 78, and information as
to methods of prevention, etc., adopted in relation to this disease will be found in
previous reports.
The services of the nurses were requisitioned in 35 cases and 370 visits were
paid.
TUBERCULOSIS.
In all 224 notifications were received, 190 relating to pulmonary tuberculosis,
the remainder (34) to cases in which structures other than the lungs were affected.
The table given on page 54 contains the information required by the Ministry
of Health with regard to notifications. Notifications on Form B relate to school
children. The number it will be noted was 9 as against 10 in 1922.
From time to time reference is made to the difficulty associated with the obtaining
of notifications sufficiently early, and the following figures are introduced because
they are interesting in this connection. They relate, as will be seen, to cases in
which death had taken place before the fact that the individual was suffering from
the disease had been brought to the notice of the Medical Officer of Health, as
required by the regulations:—
1. Total number of deaths from tuberculosis in the Borough 115
2. The number of cases only notified at death 10
3. The number of cases notified within a month of death 6
4. The number of cases notified within three months of death 4
5. The number of cases notified within six months of death 10
Treatment of Tuberculosis.—Of the cases notified 168 received some form of
institutional treatment, and during the year every effort was made to obtain
admission to sanatoria of cases deemed suitable for such treatment. Of the total
new cases notified 114 were insured persons: of these 39 were admitted to sanatorium
or hospital treatment and 12 to St. Marylebone Hospital. Non-insured persons
numbered 110 of whom 20 (9 being children) received sanatorium treatment and 8
were admitted to the St. Marylebone Hospital. Nurses were sent in to 11 cases and
125 visits were paid.