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
West Ham 1937
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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admitted were 601 men, 250 women, and 186 children. These
figures show an increase of 566 admissions over the corresponding
figures for 1936, viz., 10,151.
The hospital was transferred to the County Borough Council
in 1930. In a period of transition such as the present it is necessary
to have a clear idea of the increasing use to which this
hospital is being put, and of the changes in the methods of admission.
Table II gives the numbers of admissions and the route by
which the patients entered the hospital since 1931. The table also
Table III.
Whipps Cross Hospital. Patients seen by consultants, 1937.
| Consultant. | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 | Per cent. increase ( + ) or decrease (-) on 1931 figures. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dermatologist | No record prior to May, 1936. | 422 | 684 | — | ||||
| Ophthalmologist | 316 | 347 | 329 | 389 | 521 | 595 | 517 | + 63.6 |
| Aural Surgeon | 461 | 500 | 550 | 475 | 445 | 390 | 447 | - 3.0 |
| Light treatment | 1,208 | 1,240 | 1,475 | 1,879 | 1,971 | 1,933 | 1,815 | + 50.2 |
| Gynecologist | 28 | 42 | 75 | 125 | 117 | 77 | 77 | + 175.0 |
| Orthopaedic Surgeon | 233 | 183 | 259 | 347 | 287 | 353 | 426 | + 82.8 |
| Neurologist | 228 | 240 | 231 | 217 | 194 | 177 | 317 | + 39.0 |
| Urologist | 177 | 202 | 190 | 187 | 257 | 249 | 290 | + 63.8 |
| Totals | 2,651 | 2,754 | 3,109 | 3,619 | 3,792 | 4,196 | 4,573 | + 72.5 |
shows the number of operations performed. Table III shows the
number of cases seen by the various consultants.
One of the most obvious features of these tables is the
progressive increase in the amount of work carried out in the
hospital. The admissions increased from 8,594 in 1931 to 10,717
in 1937—an increase of 24.7 per cent. Despite this, there has
been an apparent decrease of 32.8 per cent. in the number of
patients admitted by the district medical officers through the relieving
officers, and taking into account the large increase in the
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