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53
SUMMARY OF THE WORK OF THE
TUBERCULOSIS AND CHEST CLINIC
SINCE ITS INCEPTION.
Under the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Regulations, 1912,
the then Municipal Borough of East Ham undertook the treatment
of Tuberculosis at its Centre in Wakefield Street, under the
direction of the Medical Officer of Health of the Essex County
Council.
When East Ham became a County Borough on the 1st April,
1915, I, as Medical Officer of Health of an autonomous area, was
responsible for the treatment of this disease, and Dr. W. O. Pitts,
who was appointed Tuberculosis Officer, continued to deal with
cases at the Centre in Wakefield Street.
Co-operation with the general practitioners continued to
improve, with the result that more cases were being brought to
the notice of the Tuberculosis Officer. In 1917 Dr. Pitts left the
service, so that I, owing to war conditions, had to carry on as
best I could. This state of affairs persisted until 1920, since
when Dr. Barker, Dr. Cheater, Dr. Evans, and now Dr. Ellman
have successively undertaken the duties.
The premises in Wakefield Street became totally unsuited for
the purpose, and in 1928 the Tuberculosis Clinic was moved
temporarily to Durban House, Katherine Road.
In the 1931 report attention was drawn to the urgent need
of a new Clinic, with adequate accommodation and facilities for
the complete adoption of all the recent advances in diagnosis. It
now seems likely that this long felt want is nearer at hand.
REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE
TUBERCULOSIS AND CHEST CLINIC, 1932.
Dr. Ellman reports as follows :—
Notifications.
The number of primary notifications of tuberculosis during
the years 1920-1932 is shown in the following graph.