Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southgate]
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the attendances at our Centres are steadily rising.
This applies equally to our Child Welfare Clinics, as
to our Pre-Natal and Post-Natal Centres'. This is a
matter for considerable satisfaction, as at no time
has it been more essential to pay the strictest
attention, to our child population. Although the
matter belongs to 194-2 rather than 1941, it may
perhaps not be out of place to state here that"
additional clinics are being arranged to meet the
increased demand, while extra assistance is also
being engaged.
Control of Infectious Diseases. The Infectious
Sickness Rate
for 1941 was 19.59 as against 8.88 in 1940. This
figure need give no cause for alarm, as the increase
was almost entirely due to the fact that 1941 was an
epidemic year so far as measles and whooping cough
were concerned. In addition to a very marked
increase in measles and whooping cough notifications,
scarlet fever, pneumonia and tuberculosis were
slightly more prevalent in the district, while
diphtheria notifications decreased. The rise in
pneumonia notifications was to be expected in view of
the prevalence of measles and whooping cough, while
the increase in the notifications of tuberculosis was
not excessive.
Apart from measles and whooping cough, the
district was free from anything in the nature of an
epidemic.
Work of Sanitary Inspectors. The work of the
Sanitary Department will be found on pages 21 to 23.
Prom the tables there enumerated it will be observed
that the number of visits paid during the year fell
slightly, although they are still above pre-war level.
House-to-house inspections decreased, due almost
entirely to the fact that this work has, for the time
being, lost a great deal of its significance. So
long as permission cannot be obtained to acquire the
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