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
Beckenham 1939
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Beckenham]
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This work is carried out by the Health Visitors. During 1939 the Health Visitors made a home visit to 554 out of 714 new cases belonging to the district. The work done is summarised below:—
| Home Visits, New | Under One | 1 to 5 | Special Illness | Expectant Mothers | Boarded Out | No reply to call | Total Welfare Visits | T.B. Visits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miss Cusack | 234 | 1032 | 1400 | 364 | 134 | 13 | 532 | 3709 | 13 |
| Miss Smith | 86 | 402 | 529 | 106 | 83 | 20 | 250 | 1476 | 20 |
| Miss Wheeler | 96 | 375 | 907 | 105 | 71 | 6 | 393 | 1953 | 6 |
| Mrs. White & Temporary | 20 | 117 | 252 | 12 | 7 | — | 162 | 570 | — |
| Miss Noble | 118 | 411 | 662 | 53 | 75 | 9 | 170 | 1498 | 9 |
| Total | 554 | 2337 | 3750 | 640 | 370 | 48 | 1507 | 9206 | 98 |
The total number of visits, 9,206 compares with 9,544 in 1938.
INFANT WELFARE ATTENDANCES
| Town Hall C'tre | Alexandra C'tre | Elmers End C'tre | Wickham C'tre | Coney Hall C'tre | Ch'ch fields C'tre | Total 1939 | Comparative Total 1938 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individual Children | 539 | 377 | 662 | 397 | 262 | 288 | 2525 | 2056 |
| Total Attendances | 4203 | 3573 | 6226 | 3381 | 2643 | 2666 | 22692 | 21280 |
| New Cases | 166 | 140 | 184 | 193 | 87 | 91 | 861 | 750 |
| Average Sessional Attendance | 70.5 | 61.6 | 73.2 | 56.3 | 46.4 | 46.7 | 63.2 | 71.1 |
| Sessions | 60 | 58 | 85 | 60 | 59 | 57 | 359 | 299 |
| Cases seen by Medical Officer | 1014 | 664 | 1740 | 735 | 488 | 853 | 5494 | 4959 |
| Sessions attended by M.O. | 48 | 45 | 73 | 48 | 47 | 44 | 305 | 290 |
| Average No. per Session seen by M.O. | 21 | 14 | 23 | 15 | 10 | 19 | 18 | 16.4 |
The total attendances show a further increase, despite the
temporary closure during September.
The following figures show the main reasons for medical examinations:—
| Total seen by Doctor. | Feeding and Digestion. | Referred to Special Clinics. | Special Cases. | General Progress. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5,494 | 1,878 | 292 | 40 | 2,902 |
| Immunisation. | Average Number seen by Doctor per Session. | |||
| 362 | 18.0 | |||