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PERSONAL HEALTH
Tuberculosis
Arrangements for the provision of this service are shared between the
Council and the North-East Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board and are
based on the Chest Clinic, situated at the North Middlesex Hospital. Hospital
beds are situated at North Middlesex Hospital and Highlands Hospital. Dr.
Vernon Davies, Dr. R. H. Elphinstone and Dr. E. N. O'Brien continued to be
responsible for the consultant work.
I am grateful to Dr. Vernon Davies for supplying me with the detailed
information on which this part of the report is based.
The Chest Physician, who supervises the work of the tuberculosis health
visitors employed by the Council, is responsible not only for all matters
concerning diagnosis and treatment but also for the local health authority
care and after-care services. The chest clinic service provides facilities for
the investigation and treatment of all forms of chest disease.
During the year, 4,701 persons attended the Chest Clinic for the first time
and were investigated for various chest conditions; and the total number of
attendances by all cases was 13,153. Tabulated statistics relating to the
work of the Chest Clinic are to be found at the end of this section of the
report.
It was necessary to examine the high number of 869 new contacts, 600 of
which arose from five infectious cases, two of whom were staff members of
hospital maternity departments and involved over 400 contacts. The four
contacts in whom tuberculosis was diagnosed during the year were all in
the families of newly discovered tuberculous cases.
Twenty-six infectious patients were treated at the Chest Clinic; of these,
nineteen were among the newly diagnosed cases. Thirty-one patients were
admitted to the Clinic's tuberculosis wards for in-patient treatment.
Of the 161 new tuberculosis cases diagnosed during the year 43 respiratory
and 15 non-respiratory cases were formally notified, the remainder being
under observation.
The number of deaths from tuberculosis during the year was four of which
three were due to pulmonary tuberculosis.
Home Visiting
Two health visitors confined to work from the Chest Clinic, visiting tuberculous
and non-tuberculous patients at home; 1,474 visits were paid to 312
tuberculous households.
Medical Arrangements
for Long Stay
Immigrants
Arrangements to cover the special problems which may arise in connection
with the health and medical treatment of long stay immigrants to this country
were set out in Ministry of Health circular CMO 1/65.
The procedure for notifying local authorities is intended to ensure that long
stay immigrants register with general medical practitioners at an early stage
of their life in this country and do not wait until they become ill. It is hoped
that those for whom it is appropriate, will accept an X-ray examination at an
early stage.
During the year, the names of 374 long stay immigrants, resident in the
London Borough of Enfield, were notified and successful visits were made
by health visitors to many of them.
Commonwealth
Immigrants Act 1968
There were no instances of persons arriving in Enfield subject to the condition
(under the Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968) that they report to
the Medical Officer of Health with a view to further medical examination.
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