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
Bromley 1943
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bromley]
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Orthopædic Clinic. The work of this Clinic with its ancillary services of massage, remedial exercises and light treatments during 1943, is indicated in the following figures:—
| Number of clinics held by the Consultant | 13 |
| Number of children treated at the Clinic | 164 |
| Number of attendances for consultations | 405 |
| Number of attendances for massage and exercises, etc. | 2201 |
| Number of attendances for Ultra Violet Ray and Infra Red treatments:— | |
| (a) North Clinic | 1575 |
| (b) South Clinic | 1070 |
| Number of cases admitted to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, Stanmore, for in-patient treatment | 5 |
Tabulation of new cases seen by the Orthopaedic Surgeon, 1943:—
| 1. (a) Congenital Defects:— | 6. Structural Curvature of the Spine | — | |
| Club Foot | 2 | ||
| Dislocation of Hip | 1 | 7. Flat Feet | |
| Other conditions | 15 | 8. Infantile Paralysis | — |
| (b) Hammer Toes | 3 | 9. Sequelae of Acute Fevers | — |
| 2. Birth Injuries:— | |||
| Torticollis | 2 | 10. Fracture | 1 |
| Other conditions | 2 | 11. Tuberculosis—Joints | 2 |
| 3. Rickety Deformities:— | 12. Other Bone Diseases (non-tubercular) | — | |
| Bow Legs | 2 | ||
| 4. (a) Bow Legs (non-rickety) | 6 | 13. Osteomyelitis | — |
| (b) Knock Knees (non-rickety | 2 | 14. Not Classified | 23 |
| 15. Non-Orthopaedic | 2 | ||
| 5. Postural Defects of the Spine | 19 | 16. No Active Disease | 23 |
Orthopædic Clinic Report for 1943.
I do not think there is any special comment to be made
on the working of the Orthopaedic Clinic during 1943. The
number of attendances for consultation has increased once
again, so that the numbers attending each session are now
slightly above pre-war figures.
I believe that I am correct in stating that the milder and
less important disabilities detected at the Welfare and School
Clinics often have to wait quite a considerable time before
obtaining an appointment at the Orthopaedic Clinic. This is,
of course, not a desirable state of affairs, but it can only be
solved by increasing the number of surgeon's sessions to the
pre-war figure of two per month ; and owing to the shortage of
staff at this Hospital and the considerable increase in the
number of beds under the Emergency Medical Service Scheme,
this is quite impossible at the present time.