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
East Ham 1926
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for East Ham]
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53
on the doctor attending the case. A midwife meeting the case of
an infant with discharging eyes is required to summon a doctor,
who then becomes responsible for its notification, if necessary, to
the Medical Officer of Health. The information is then passed to
the Medical Officer of the Child Welfare Department, and she
keeps the case under observation either directly or through the
Health Visitors. The reason for all this routine is that in the past
this disease has been terribly injurious to the sight of babies who
contracted it, very often leaving them permanently blind.
During 1926, eight cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum were notified in East Ham, with results of treatment as is shown in the following table:—
| Notified. | Treated. | Vision Unimpaired. | Vision Impaired. | Total Blindness. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Home. | At Hospital or Clinic. | ||||
| 1 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 2 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 3 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 4 | 1 | - | 1 | - | - |
| 5 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 6 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 7 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
| 8 | - | 1 | 1 | - | - |
For two of the cases treated in St. Margaret's Hospital
(Metropolitan Asylums Board) the Borough Council incurred a
cost of £60 10s.; so that the question is one that is being taken
very seriously in this Borough.
Inspection of Midwives
The Assistant Medical Officer for Maternity and Child Welfare
is also Inspector of Midwives under the Borough Council, in
this capacity maintaining a general supervision over the work cf
all midwives practising in East Ham, under the requirements of
the Midwives Acts, 1902 and 1918.
Forty-three midwives notified their intention to practise in the
Borough during 1926. Of these, 26 worked in connection with
the Maternity Charity and District Nurses' Home, Plaistow, and
its branches, and five with the Sir Henry Tate Nurses' Home, at
Silvertown ; 12 practised independently.