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
Coulsdon and Purley 1948
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Coulsdon]
This page requires JavaScript
INFESTATIONS.
(a) Scabies.
During 1948 the number of persons treated at the Scabies Treatment
Centre, Lion Green, Coulsdon, was only 60, of which number 10 were
schoolchildren and 31 adults and children under 5 years of age, while 19
persons had preventative treatment only. Altogether 133 baths were
given. The number of cases showed such a marked reduction on previous
years, as shown by the following table, and decreased so steadily during
the year that by December the continued use of the Centre was no longer
justified and it was closed.
When considered necessary cases are treated at their homes by a visiting nurse, arrangements being made by the Medical Officer of Health to whom cases needing supervised treatment should be referred.
| Year. | Number of Baths given. | Number of Persons treated. |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 (May-December) | 695 | 237 |
| 1943 | 1,217 | 326 |
| 1944 | 905 | 399 |
| 1945 | 768 | 349 |
| 1946 | 805 | 250 |
| 1947 | 316 | 172 |
| 1948 | 133 | 60 |
(b) Vermin.
The number of cases of infestation was again very small and was
mostly limited to cases of head lice discovered at the schools. Three
cases were treated at the Scabies Treatment Centre. As far as possible,
these cases are dealt with as family units.
THE CONTROL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASE.
The place of immunisation among the measures for the control of
infectious disease remained very much as in recent years. The National
Health Service Act, 1946, made one outstanding change in that vaccination
ceased to be compulsory, reliance being placed in future on voluntary
acceptance of preventive inoculation, this having proved so successful in
the diphtheria immunisation campaign. The Act also ensured general
practitioners a share in all immunisation schemes and the Surrey County
Council in its proposals included a recommendation, which was approved,
to pay an agreed fee for all notifications received from general practitioners
of immunisation against diphtheria, and vaccination against smallpox,
carried out by them. Unfortunately, although it is now more than a
year since the Act came into force, the dimensions of these fees have no I
been agreed upon, nor has any payment been made, and there are adverse
signs which should be noted,
25