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15. TUBERCULOSIS SERVICE
The responsibility for the tuberculosis service in the borough is divided between
the Council and the Regional Hospital Board. The Board is responsible for the provision
of treatment at chest clinics, while the Council is responsible for the visiting and
welfare services under Section 28 of the National Health Service Act.
Because of the Hospital Committee's Catchment Areas, patients residing in Ealing
and Acton are referred to the Ealing Chest Clinic, Green Man Passage, W.13, whilst those
living in Southall are referred to the chest clinic at Hillingdon Hospital for
investigation and treatment.
In the long term it is the Council's policy to integrate the tuberculosis visiting
service with the health visiting service. Indeed, tuberculosis visitors as such are no
longer being trained and eventually this designation will disappear. At present, however,
only one of the Council's five tuberculosis visitors is a qualified health visitor and
therefore able to carry out combined duties.
Details of the work during 1970 are as follows:-
TUBERCULOSIS HEALTH VISITORS
Number of new tuberculosis cases 176
Number of old tuberculosis cases 3,543
Transfers into borough 19
Number of contacts of new cases 1,187
Successful visits to tuberculosis households 3,725
Unsuccessful visits to tuberculosis households 864
Successful visits to other patients 495
MEDICAL SOCIAL WORKER
The statistics of the cases seen by the Medical Social Worker relate only to
cases under the care of Ealing Chest Clinic. Those attending Hillingdon
Hospital are seen by the Medical Social Worker there.
DETAILS OP CASES
Cases first referred during the year 101
Total cases 253
Tuberculosis patients 147
Cancer patients 59
Bronchitis and others 47
ACTION TAKEN
Referred for employment 8
Pound employment 6
Referred to Social Security for maintenance 13
Referred to Social Security for bedding 2
Referred to Social Security for clothing 7
Referred to Social Security for extra nourishment 8
Referred for Housing 46
Rehoused 8
During the year the Mass Radiography Unit of the North West Metropolitan Regional
Hospital Board visited 48 sites within the area and examined 26,745 workers. Twenty
cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis were discovered and eight cases of lung cancer.
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