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
Stepney 1912
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Stepney]
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34
From January 1st, 1913, to February 20th, I received 468 notifications of
Tuberculous diseases, 90 were received from the three Dispensaries, the number
in February being 8 from the Dispensaries and 332 from other practitioners. Even
with the 3 Dispensaries in full working order, they do not deal with all the cases
of Tuberculosis occurring in the Borough.
The average annual cost of the three Dispensaries:—
| Stepney Dispensary. | Whitechapel Dispensary. | St. George's Dispensary. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | £ | s. | d. | |
| Rent | 32 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Rates | 11 | 5 | 4 | 28 | 15 | 0 | 18 | 8 | 0 |
| Gas, Electricity, &c. | 15 | 2 | 9 | 4 | 19 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Water | 0 | 13 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 6 |
| £59 | 1 | 1 | £105 | 9 | 0 | £72 | 13 | 6 | |
| s. | d. | s. | d. | s. | d. | ||||
| Medical Officer | 500 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 | 500 | 0 | 0 |
| Assistant Medical Officer | 300 | 0 | 0 | — | — | ||||
| Secretary | 100 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Dispenser | 65 | 0 | 0 | 65 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Nurse | 100 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 |
| Caretaker | 78 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 78 | 0 | 0 |
| £1,143 | 0 | 0 | £778 | 0 | 0 | £843 | 0 | 0 | |
In addition to this, the cost of drugs, tuberculin, appliances, &c., amounted
to about £150 a year for each Dispensary.
Sanatorium Benefits.
Sanatorium benefits under the National Insurance Act came into operation
on July 15th, 1912, and a Sub-Committee was appointed for the Borough by the
London Insurance Committee. The Sub-Committee made arrangements for the
Domiciliary and Dispensary treatment of insured persons. Treatment at a Sanatorium
was arranged for by the London Insurance Committee. Before insured
persons could receive any of the Sanatorium benefits, they were obliged to go to
Fitzroy Square, W., for examination by a Physician appointed by the Insurance Committee.
Of the 357 insured persons notified to me to be suffering from Pulmonary
Consumption from July 1st to the end of the year, 46 only took this trouble ; 14 were
recommended for Domiciliary or Dispensary treatment, 23 for treatment in a
Sanatorium, of whom 12 were admitted before December 31st, the remaining 11