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
Southall 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall]
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Cancer
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 30) that in 1952 95 cases (46 males
and 49 females) died from cancer. (See Appendix, Tables VII and VIII.)
Below is set out in tabular form a classification of the cancer deaths according to the site of the primary growth and in ages.
| Site | AGE GROUPS | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Male | Femals | |||||||||||||
| 20-30 | 30-40 | 40-50 | 50-60 | 60-70 | 70-80 | 80+ | 20-30 | 3O-4O | 4O-5O | 50-60 | 60-70 | 70-80 | 80+ | |
| Breast | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Lung | - | - | 1 | 6 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Stomach | - | - | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 3 | - |
| Uterus | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Intestine | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 1 | - | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Bladder | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Prostate | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Other | — | — | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | — |
Disinfection
In cases of infectious disease, rooms, clothing, etc., were disinfected—rooms by sealing
and fumigating with formalin preparation; clothing, bedding and other infected articles
by removal for disinfection in the Council's disinfector at Salisbury Road Depot.
List of premises, articles, etc., disinfected during the year:—
Rooms 17 Eiderdowns 1
Beds 8 Pyjamas (pairs) 2
Blankets 26 Plimsolls (routine disin-
Mattresses 5 fection during holiday
Sheets 14 for Featherstone School)
Books 56 (pairs) 50
Pillows 3 Miscellaneous articles 10
Smallpox Disinfection. It was considered desirable that, in the event of smallpox
occurring within the district and disinfection being required on a considerable scale,
arrangements should be made whereby this could be carried out. The North-West
Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board was approached and an agreement was made whereby
in such an event the staff of St. John's Hospital, Uxbridge, would carry out this work.
Provision of Antitoxin and Vaccine Lymph
The Council provides diphtheria antitoxin and tetanus antitoxin free to local
practitioners in the district. These antitoxins are obtainable from the Public Health
Department during office hours and by direct request to the Medical Officer of Health at
other times. In the event of emergency supplies of vaccine lymph being required, they are
obtainable at very short notice.
Vermin and Scabies
The number of people being infested with these conditions has diminished annually
since the war, and the Public Health Committee decided that it was no longer economic
to maintain a full-time cleansing station for the purpose of treating these patients.
Negotiations were commenced with neighbouring Boroughs which continued to maintain
such stations and an arrangement was come to whereby Hammersmith Borough Council
would treat any patients sent from Southall Public Health Department, at an agreed cost.
The cleansing station at Crosby House was closed down at the end of June, 1952. Table
XIII shows details of the work carried out during the first six months of the year.
17