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 1961
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southall]
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Dr. J. T. Nicol Roe, Chest Physician, Uxbridge Chest Clinic, reports on the need for
continued aggressive action in detecting the new case of pulmonary tuberculosis, for only
by so doing and treating this case effectively will diminution of new cases be maintained.
Cases in the Southall area showed an increase in 1961 and this was partly linked up with
the continued influx of Indians and Pakistanis into the Borough. Wives and children
have been arriving in increasing numbers and this has resulted in an increase in disease
in females and children.
The continued co-operation of local General Practitioners in referring to the Chest
Clinic newly arrived Indians and their families for X-rays and/or Tuberculin testing is an
essential part of the anti-tuberculosis programme.
Patients in the Southall area, as before, are admitted to Harefield Hospital. Dr. Nicol
Roe considers it is still a desirable thing for anti-tuberculous drugs to be initiated in hospital,
as a certain risk always exists towards the development of sensitivity reactions.
Of the Indians and Pakistanis who were referred to the clinic by their general practitioners for X-ray only, the following were skin tested and B.C.G. vaccinated:—
| Under 1 year | 1-4 | 5-15 | Over 15 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tested | 11 | 15 | 41 | 90 | 157 |
| Negative | 11 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 41 |
| Positive | — | 2 | 27 | 84 | 113 |
| Vaccinated | 11 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 41 |
Of those originally skin tested, 3 failed to return to the clinic for reading of the test.
With regard to prevention and early detection of cases, contacts both at home and
factory or workshop should have regular X-rays and/or Tuberculin Tests. Full use should
continue to be made of the Mass X-ray Unit's visits to the Borough.
Cancer
It will be seen by the table of causes of death (page 57) that in 1961 148 cases (males 89
and females 59) died from cancer. See Appendix, Table V, for an analysis of cancer
deaths since 1936.
On page 19 is set out in tabular form a classification of the cancer deaths according to
the site of the primary growth and in ages.
The total number of deaths from cancer in 1961 rose, being 148 as compared with 118
in 1960 giving the highest death rate for this cause yet recorded. Cancer of the lung in
males was the highest individual figure for site of disease and was 40% up on the 1960
figure.
Distribution of Infectious Disease Notifications
For the incidence of various infectious diseases notified during the year, under age
groups and locality, see Appendix, Tables VI and VII.
Infectious Disease Visits
During the year, the Public Health Inspectors paid 125 visits with reference to cases
of infectious disease. In addition, the County Health Visitors did a certain amount of
home and school visiting in connection with infectious diseases.
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