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 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for West Ham]
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The clinics were open every morning and also on two afternoons a week when the area
doctor was present. Prom the 23rd November the Doctor's sessions were transferred to the
mornings thus relieving the nursing staff for other duties in the afternoon.
The total number of children who attended the three individual clinics for all
purposes was as follows:-
Clinic New
Cases
Stratford 2,696
Balaam Street 2,226
Rosetta Road 2,323
It is, of course, necessary for many of the patients to attend on more than one occasion, and some indication of the volume of work carried out at these clinics will be obtained from the following table:-
| Clinic | No. of Attendances |
|---|---|
| Stratford | 5,773 |
| Balaam Street | 7,848 |
| Rosetta Road | 8,390 |
| Total | 22,011 |
This is a decrease in attendances over last year's figures. During the post-war
years there has been a steady decrease in attendances, with the exception of I95I, as the
following figures show:-
1946 41,746 1950 28,605
1947 38,443 1951 32,248
1948 36,165 1952 26,160
1949 33,221 1953 22,011
REPORT ON THE WORK OP THE OPHTHALMIC CLINIC
by
Miss A.A.S.Russell, M.B., Ch.B., D.P.H., D.O.M.S.
The usual routine was carried out and all children having defective vision or symptoms
suggesting the possibility of a refractive error were refracted and 1,601 pairs of glasses
were ordered. Mr.Lauder, the full-time optician in the clinic, dealt with 1,236 cases while
365 prescriptions were taken to an outside optician.
All children refracted were not found to require glasses and some already possessed a
suitable pair, also many children attended for re-inspection and some for treatment of other
eye conditions. The number of attendances in the eye clinic for the year was 6,931.
The examination and treatment of cases of squint forms a very important part of the
work in the clinic. Five hundred and seventy-two prescriptions for glasses were for
children with squints of some degree or previous squint cases straight after treatment, and
141 of these were for children under school age. The treatment of these eases is combined
with the work of the orthoptist and operations carried out by me at Whipps Cross Hospital.
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