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25a. Poor Law Statistics. The following- figures from
the "Abstract" published by the Guardians of the Woolwich
Union, have an interesting bearing on death and sickness
statistics. They comprise the half-year ending Lady Day,
1911: —
Average daily number of inmates in the Workhouse
(including: Receiving Home and Furze
Lodge) 632
ditto patients in the Infirmary 274
ditto children in Cottage Homes 304
Number of vagrants relieved during the half-year 3,965
25b. Notification of Diseases. Information as to the
occurrence of disease is obtained partly by death returns,
and partly by notifications of illness. The former are
received from the Registrars of Births and Deaths; the latter
are made principally by medical practitioners, but also by
school teachers, and very occasionally by other persons.
The following diseases were made compulsorily notifiable
by the Public Health (London) Act:—Small-pox, cholera,
diphtheria, erysipelas, scarlet fever, typhus, typhoid or
enteric fever, relapsing fever, continued fever, and puerperal
fever. By order of the London County Council, approved
by the Local Government Board, made under Section 56 of
Public Health (London) Act, the following diseases have
since been added to the list:—Polio-myelitis, cerebro-spinal
fever, ophthalmia neonatorum, glanders, anthrax, aad hydrophobia.
Last year the Local Government Board made pulmonary
tuberculosis notifiable by an order under Section 130,
Public Health Act, 1875, (treatment and prevention of spread
of cholera, and any other epidemic, endemic, or infectious
diseases).