View report page

PLAISTOW HOSPITAL.
Report of Medical Superintendent.
(Dr. D. Maclntyre.)
The total number of cases under treatment at the Hospital
during 1928 was 2,309, which is 155 less than in the previous
year. The small drop in numbers was due to a slight fall in the
prevalence of scarlet fever during the summer months. The
admissions from this disease were 916 as compared with 1,250 in
1927.
Diphtheria, on the other hand, still shows an increase; the
numbers admitted have again exceeded all previous records.
Though a large proportion of the cases were of a mild type the
disease was the cause of much sickness and debility. A feature
of the year was the frequent occurrence of outbreaks of nasal
diphtheria in the schools, hospitals and other institutions in the
Borough. It cannot be too strongly emphasised that, although
the isolation of cases and swabbing of contacts may stop such
outbreaks temporarily, these measures are not of any real value
for stamping out the disease. The only means by which this can
be accomplished is by inoculating all the susceptible children with
toxoid antitoxin mixture, particularly in the overcrowded areas
where the disease is endemic. This measure is both safe and
simple, and can be put into practice on a large scale at a small
fraction of the present cost of treating cases of the disease.
Measles and whooping cough were prevalent during the first
half of the year and, together, were responsible for 13 deaths.
Typhoid fever cases were few, and there were no deaths.
The chief causes of death are briefly summarised as follows :—
Scarlet Fever caused 3 deaths
Diphtheria caused 20 ,,
Measles caused 9 ,,
Whooping Cough caused 4 ,,
Pneumonia caused 3 ,,
Tubercular Meningitis caused 5 ,,
Erysipelas caused 1 ,,
Other diseases caused 4 ,,
Total 58
The fatality rate, calculated on all the cases admitted during
the year, was 2.82 per cent.
At the beginning of 1928 there were 257 cases resident in the
Hospital, 2,052 were admitted during the year, making a total of
2,309 cases under treatment. Of these, 2,010 were discharged,
recovered, 58 died, and 241 remained under treatment at the end
of the vear.
The following Table shows the admissions and deaths for each
month of the vear:—
82