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
Acton 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Acton]
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a person who has been notified elsewhere but has not consulted a doctor since arrival in the
borough. (3) Difficulty in diagnosis before death. (4) The doctor being under an erroneous
impression that the case has been notified in the borough previously.
When necessary a communication is sent to the certifying practitioner asking for an
explanation of the circumstances under which formal notification was not made. No case
occurred in which it appeared to be desirable to institute proceedings for deliberate or wilful
neglect to comply with the regulations.
The interval elapsing between notification and death is an indication of the efficiency
of notification. In the following table the deaths from tuberculosis (from January 1st to
December 31st) are classified according to this interval:-
TUBERCULOSIS DEATHS—1936.
| Time of Notification. | PULMONARY. | NON-PULMONARY. | Total. | Percentage. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male. | Female. | Male. | Female. | ||||
| 1936 | Discovered on Death | 19 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 31 | 19.8 |
| Six months or less before Death | 26 | 8 | 1 | 37 | 23.5 | ||
| Remainder | 3 | - | - | - | 3 | 1.9 | |
| 1936 Total | 48 | 10 | 3 | 10 | 71 | 45.2 | |
| 1935 | 17 | 12 | - | - | 29 | 18.5 | |
| 1934 | 8 | 4 | - | - | 12 | 7.7 | |
| 1933 | 10 | 5 | - | - | 15 | 9.6 | |
| 1932 | 3 | 2 | 1 | - | 6 | 3.8 | |
| 1931-1927 | 12 | 7 | 1 | - | 12.7 | ||
| Before 1927 | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 2.5 | |
| Total | 101 | 41 | 5 | 10 | 157 | 100 | |