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
Ealing 1965
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Ealing]
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schools or otherwise come into contact with groups of children, those who handle
food and those who work as home helps.
In addition to medical assessment of staff on appointment, any Chief Officer who
has doubts as to the medical fitness of a member of staff to continue his employment
refers the matter to me. Seven such referrals took place during the year.
The table below shows the number of examinations made between April, 1965, and the end of the year:—
| Total number of medical questionnaires received | 2,039 | |||
| Number of candidates not requiring examination because the answers to the medical questionnaires were satisfactory | 1,338 | |||
| Number of candidates examined as a result of assessment of their medical questionnaires; or upon requests from heads of other departments of the Council, including requests from the Chief Education Officer on behalf of the Department of Education and Science for the examination of teachers; or upon requests from teachers' training colleges on behalf of the same Department for the examination of students:— | ||||
| 156 | 158 | 217 | 170 | 701 |
| Number of candidates found unfit for initial or continued employment (the candidates suffered from one of the following: neurosis, cardiac condition, pulmonary condition, Parkinson's disease, thyrotoxicosis and gastric ulcer, diabetes with complications, arthritis) | 14 | |||
VACCINATION AND IMMUNISATION OF STAFF
During the year, it was decided to offer vaccination against smallpox and immunisation
against typhoid fever and poliomyelitis to all personnel of the Health
Department, and to encourage particularly those who might be at special risk.
These would include medical officers, dental staff, public health inspectors, driver/
disinfectors, nursing staff including day nursery staff, and certain administrative staff,
all of whom would be liable to be involved in the event of an outbreak of a serious
infectious disease. Similarly, it was considered necessary to have on record a
complete picture of the immunisation state of the Department's staff, and all staff
were asked to record details of immunisations they had received and to indicate their
willingness to accept further protection.
In accordance with current opinion, it was decided to offer immunisation against
typhoid fever to any member of the staff intending to holiday abroad. This could,
if wished, be combined with protection against tetanus.
The programme was started towards the end of the year with immunisation against
poliomyelitis. The number of staff not already protected was small as protection
had been accepted over the past few years. Some 25 members of the staff received
oral vaccine.
The programme will continue in 1966 when courses of vaccination against smallpox
and typhoid will be started.