London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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West Ham 1949

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]

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REPORT ON THE WORK OF THE PAEDIATRIC CLINIC.
by Dr. E. Hinden, M.D., M.R.C.P.
The work of the Consultative Clinics has continued at the West Ham Centre and at the
Rosetta Clinic. As previously, the bulk of the children are referred by the School Medical
Officers, but many babies are sent from the Infant Welfare Centres for a second opinion, and
others come at the request of other of the Council's specialists such as the E.N.T. surgeon
and the Eye doctor. Occasionally it is the child's family doctor who asks for the child to
be seen - and this procedure has shown a welcome tendency to increase, during the course of
the year.
Pathological investigations are carried out at Whipps Cross Hospital, and X-ray examinations
at St. Mary's Hospital, Plaistow. These diagnostic procedures are of the greatest
importance in assessing the health of the children seen at the Clinics, and I am indeed
grateful to the hospitals concerned for their valued help. In addition, many children have
been admitted from the Clinics to the wards at Whipps Cross Hospital, and this ready transfer
of patients for hospital investigation is of the utmost assistance in curing disease. It
is also invaluable in estimating whether disease is present or not. This question is continually
posed in suspected rheumatic fever. It is often quite impossible to be sure, after
an ordinary clinical examination, whether a child suffering from limb-pains, has active rheumatism
or not; but a few days in hospital, using all ancillary diagnostic procedures, will
usually supply the answer.
The "Triple Form" for referring patients to the Clinics has been used during the past
year. This form, elaborated by the Medical Officer of Health and adopted by the Borough, after
consulting the General Practitioners, is a method whereby both the school doctor referring
the child, and the patient's family doctor, are informed of the interview and of the specialist's
recommendations. Since the introduction of this form,no treatment is given at the Consultative
Clinics: but the child's family doctor is informed of any recommendations made, and the decision
is then his whether he orders it or not.
Opportunity was taken to visit the Council's special schools, including the Open-Air
School at Fyfield.

Statistics relating to the work of the clinic follow:

Rheumatic.NutritionalGeneral Consultative
Number of new cases seen7915128
Total attendances22135325
Number admitted to Hospital21-17
Number recommended for Open Air School
or other special educational treatment,1316
Number referred to other special clinics6326
Number discharged during year.476105
Number under observation at end of year6l1896