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in detail in the appropriate sections of the report. So far as
other diseases are concerned there were no noteworthy
epidemics. So far as invalidity is concerned, it is very difficult
indeed for a Medical Officer of Health to write on this matter
because he has no direct access to the records dealing with
this question, and so his knowledge must of necessity be largely
a matter of impressions gained either from the local medical
practitioners or from the death returns. I do not think that
the causes of invalidity call for any special mention in this
report.
Poor Law Relief. I am indebted to the Clerks of the
Woolwich and Lewisham Guardians for the following particulars
regarding out-door relief—medical and ordinary—
together with information as to the number of patients
admitted to their respective institutions for the year ending
31st December, 1925. The figures furnished by the Clerk
of the Woolwich Guardians relate to the area (including
Charlton) for which that body is responsible, but the figures
furnished by the Clerk of the Lewisham Guardians relate to
Eltham parish only. The cost of out-door relief for the year
was £113,029 16s. 10d. The average number of persons in
receipt of such relief each week was 6,016. The cost of drugs
and other medical necessaries, including surgical appliances,
was £966. 3,014 medical orders were issued for attendance
at the Dispensaries and 1,906 for the attendance of medical
officers at the patients' homes. In Eltham, persons on
permanent out-relief are entitled to medical relief without a
special medical order. The average total number of Woolwich
residents who were maintained at the Woolwich Infirmary
and the Lewisham Hospital, each day during the
year, was 302.
Occupations of the Inhabitants. The following Table sets
out under generalised headings the total number of males
and females engaged in occupations at ages from 12 years