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56
SECTION VI —VENEREAL DISEASES.
Prevalence.
There is no means of measuring the degree of prevalence of
venereal diseases in the general population. Even the deaths
directly or indirectly due to them cannot be exactly stated, owing to
the natural avoidance of such a label on the death certificate.
During 1923 only 7 deaths were definitely ascribed to venereal
disease, and only 12 other deaths could with practical certainty be
attributed to these diseases. Nevertheless their influence on the
public health is very far reaching. An appreciable proportion of
the diseases of heart, bloodvessels, and nervous system during the
later middle years of life are the direct result of earlier venereal
infection, as are also particular types of mental disease which constitute
a considerable section of the occupants of mental hospitals,
and which consequently involve a very material charge on the ratepayer.
Scheme of Treatment.
Treatment is provided by the Council under two schemes:—
(a) Clinic at Croydon General Hospital.
A clinic for the treatment of women was opened in 1918, and
was extended to include treatment for men in 1920. The clinic is
held in a section of the Out-patient Department, rented by the
Council for this purpose. The accommodation consists of a waiting
room, an enquiry room, an examination and treatment room,
and an irrigation annexe.
Two afternoon sessions are held each week—one for women
and children on Wednesday afternoons, the other for men on Saturday
afternoons.
Particulars as to the number of new patients, attendances, etc.,
are set out in Table IX. in the Appendix. It will be seen that the
number of new male patients dropped from 105 in 1922 to 80 in
1923, but that the number of female patients increased from 63 to
89. The number of attendances of men dropped from 2,425 in 1922
to 1,826 in 1923; that of women increased from 898 to 1,023.
The clinic is thus evidently becoming more used and appreciated
by women in need of treatment, and the increase in the
number who attended for conditions found not to be due to venereal
disease shows that the clinic is serving a very useful purpose in the
diagnosis of doubtful cases. The drop in the number of men
attending the Croydon clinic in 1923 may in part be due to the
increasing facilities provided at the London clinics, which can be