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LABORATORY FACILITIES
A large part of the Council's pathological and allied work in relation to the
diagnosis, prevention and control of infectious diseases is undertaken at the Southern
Group Laboratory at the Park Hospital, Lewisham. This service is provided by
the Public Health Laboratory Service on behalf of the Medical Research Council.
Specimens sent to this laboratory include samples of milk and ice cream,
samples of food in suspected food poisoning cases, specimens of meat from the
Abattoir and samples of swimming-bath water. The following summary relates to
the work carried out by the laboratory on behalf of the Council during 1954:-
Food (including animal specimens from Abattoirs, whole bovine
blood and blood plasma) 79
Ice Cream (methylene blue test) 39
Milk (methylene blue and phosphatase, also turbidity) 276
Faeces 3
Water—from swimming baths, children's paddling pools and
boating lakes, and from domestic tanks 92
Total 489
The examination of specimens of human origin (mainly swab examinations)
for the general practitioners in the Borough, and also specimens referred to
the hospital from local clinics, is undertaken by the Woolwich Group Hospital
Management Committee. The work was formerly carried out at the Memorial
Hospital laboratory, but is now being undertaken at the Brook Hospital. General
practitioners referred 12 sputum specimens for examination and the hospital carried
out 162 other sputum examinations during the year. Sixty-two nasal and throat
swabs were referred to the hospital by general practitioners for examination. This
laboratory also carried out the examination of 484 faecal specimens.
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