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20
THE PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF TUBERCULOSIS.
I am indebted to Dr. J. C. McMillan for the following section
of the report.
There is a possibility that the Chest Clinic may be moved
from Katharine Street. This will mean a great inconvenience for
many of the patients, especially those who attend the Clinic
weekly for treatment for a number of years. As it is impossible
to find other premises that are so accessible as the present Clinic,
it will probably also mean the further use of the ambulance service
in Croydon, as patients who at present can use public transport
will probably require the use of ambulances and cars to convey
them to any new premises.
While prevention has, so far, yielded greater dividends than
treatment, treatment has not stood still. Chemo-therapy shows
greater promise than at any time in the past. Surgical technique
also has made good progress in recent years. Unfortunately,
these advances in treatment lead to a longer stay of patients in
Hospitals and Sanatoria.
Although social conditions were different in 1950, a comparison
with 1923 shows that in 1923, 98 per 100,000 of the
population in Croydon died from all forms of tuberculosis; in
1950 the corresponding figure was 27. The years selected were
five years after a major war.
The total number of new cases of Tuberculosis coming to the
knowledge of the Medical Officer of Health during the year 1950
by notification or otherwise was 369, as compared with 305 in
1949, 350 in 1948, 354 in 1947, and 348 in 1946.
333 of ihese were cases of Respiratorv Tuberculosis; 194 in
males and 139 in females. There were 38 more cases in males and
31 more in females than in 1949.
There were 12 cases of Non-Respiratory Tuberculosis among
children under 15 years as compared with 13 in 1949. The number
of cases in adults was 24, compared with 28 in 1949.
Of the cases notified in 1950, 6 males and 3 females died
from the Respiratory form of the disease during the year, equal
to 3.6 per cent. of those notified.