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
Marylebone 1941
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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Ophthalmia Neonatorum.—The number of cases of this disease notified in 1941 was 3. All were treated in
hospital, and in no case was vision impaired.
Dysentery.—At the beginning of the year 16 cases of sonne dysentery occurred among the men in an infirm ward
at the St. Marylebone Home. During August a further 19 cases were reported from the women's wards at the
institution. Both outbreaks were mild in character. The source of the infection was presumably from carriers among
the inmates, over whose movements little control can be exercised.
Tuberculosis.—New Cases and Mortality.—Table 7, prepared at the request of the Ministry of Health, contains
information with regard to age and sex distribution of all forms of tuberculosis.
| Age Periods. | NEW CASES. | DEATHS. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pulmonary. | Non-Pulmonary. | Pulmonary. | Non-Pulmonary. | |||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| - | - | - | - | - | ||||
| - | - | - | - | - | - | |||
| - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | - | |||||||
| - | - | — | ||||||
| — | - | — | - | — | ||||
| - | - | — | ||||||
| 5 | - | - | — | |||||
| — | ||||||||
Notifications.—Table 8 gives information regarding notifications and the localisation of the disease. The total
number of cases of tuberculosis remaining at the 31st December, 1941, on the register of notifications kept by the
Medical Officer of Health was 476, 70 less than at the end of the previous year.
Tuberculosis Notifications— Localisation of Disease.
| Localisation of disease. | Cases notified in whole district. | Cases notified in each locality. | Cases removed to hospital from each locality. | Cases isolated at home. | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At all Ages. | At ages—years. | All Souls. | St. Mary. | North Marylebone | All Souls. | St. Mary. | North Marylebone | ||||||||
| Under 1. | 1 to 5. | 5 to 15. | 15 to 25. | 25 to 45. | 45 to 65. | 65 and upwards. | |||||||||
| - | |||||||||||||||
| - | — | — | — | — | - | — | |||||||||
| - | — | — | — | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| - | — | — | — | — | - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||
| — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
Dispensary.—Work proceeded on practically a normal basis in the new dispensary forming part of Health Centre
No. 1 at the Town Hall Extension. Statistics for 1941 : new cases 338, old cases 210 ; attendances 2,769 ; contacts
187 ; home visits by tuberculosis officer—new 29, old 88 ; hospital visits by tuberculosis officer 55 ; home visits by
tuberculosis visitors—first visits 132, re-visits, 1,166.
During the year 537 examinations (films, 358 ; screening only, 179) were made by means of the Council's X-ray
plant on the dispensary premises. Twenty-six patients received artificial pneumothorax treatment in the dispensary
and 237 refills were given.
Expenditure on milk supplied to tuberculous persons amounted to £161 3s. 9d. ; 336 orders were issued.
In addition to the Borough Council's dispensary there is another—the Margaret Street Dispensary—which is provided
by a voluntary body and also possesses facilities for the treatment of tuberculosis.
Special air-raid shelter accommodation for tuberculous persons was set aside in a central position in the Borough.
Dental Treatment.—Consideration of a scheme for providing dental treatment for tuberculous persons under the
direct control of the Borough Council was deferred until after the War.
Institutional Treatment.—Admissions to hospital or sanatoria during the year numbered 134.
Care Committee.—The Committee held 12 meetings and dealt with 262 cases.