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
Barking 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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The Health of Barking
show us in a very enviable light. The
possibility of getting people to work
in the service has been particularly
remote. These people are named
physiotherapists and who, in modern
language, are in very short supply.
The amount of work we did during
the year is set forth on this page, but
I am going to take time by the
forelock and say that we have a much
happier picture to paint for the year
to come.
ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC.
| Toddlers and Adults. | School Children. | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary examinations by Surgeon | 139 | 80 |
| Re-examination by Surgeon | 158 | 179 |
| Number of Cases treated | 865 | 1,093 |
| Number of Treatments | 9,131 | 8,419 |
Extract of a letter to John.
"I am sorry that when you came to visit me last evening I was so busily
engaged that I could not talk over the matters you raised, but I am writing to assure
you that there is an Ear, Nose and Throat Service in Barking, and that we did even
more work last year than in the year before, as you will see from the figures on
this page. The service caters for mothers and babies, toddlers, school-children
and the general public; indeed, virtually anybody who cares to avail themselves of it.
EAR, NOSE AND THROAT SERVICE.
| Mothers and Toddlers | Adults— Public Scheme | School Children | TOTAL | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 1948 | 1947 | 1948 | 1947 | 1948 | 1947 | 1948 | |
| Number of attendances at the Ear, Nose and Throat Clinic | 309 | 331 | 35 | 29 | 767 | 962 | 1,111 | 1,312 |
| Number of cases which received operative treatment | 41 | 86 | — | — | 223 | 356 | 264 | 442 |
| Number of cases which received other forms of treatment | 151 | 112 | 23 | 14 | 308 | 345 | 482 | 471 |
"With regard to chiropody, this is a service where it seems as if demand is
always in excess of the facilities we can supply. It is a service which is very much
in the public eye, and as you will see from the figures on this page, the year 1948
was a bumper year so far as the amount of work done was concerned. I would
like to tell you too that the work is of a very high order of merit and very much
appreciated, but I want to say also, that it should not be necessary. It is a crime
for chemists and pharmacists to sell injurious drugs at all and it ought to be a
crime for footwear people to sell what are in fact injurious boots and shoes. If
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