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

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West Ham 1955

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

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The procedure for assessment of the financial circumstances of each applicant in
accordance with the Council's scale, continued as in previous years.
Apart from the summer holiday period, no difficulty was experienced in placing the
applicants, 22 convalescent homes being used by the Department.

The age and sex incidence of the cases placed in convalescent homes was:-

SEXUnder 2525 -45 -65 -75 -Total
Male-3146-23
Female2122318661
Total2153724684

In addition to the above, 26 children under the age of 15 years were sent to
convalescent homes following reoommendation by the Chest Physician as part of the preventive
care and after care of tuberculosis patients.
Details of the convalescence provided for mothers and young children and for school
children will be found on pages 53 and 152 respectively.
Health Education.
Talks, supplemented by film strips, sound films, posters, models, etc., were given
on a variety of health subjects to parents and others at the various clinics and centres
during the year. Request for lectures were also received from interested organisations in
the Borough.
Senior members of the department have taken part in the instruction of D.P.H.
students, student health visitors, student sanitary inspectors and nursery students.
Lectures were given to student nurses in the block training schemes run by the West Ham
Group Hospital Management Committee and Whipps Cross Hospital. Their syllabus, which now
includes instruction in the social aspects of disease, involves both lectures on and
practical demonstrations of the Local Authority Services. It is a most valuable development
in the training of the nursing profession and helps the students to understand the linking
up of the medical care of the patient before and after his stay in hospital.
For the furtherance of health education measures in the prevention of food poisoning,
the West Ham Clean Food Advisory Association, which is sponsored by the Council, continued
its steady campaign during the year. In its various activities in the field of clean food
hygiene special mention should be made of the enthusiastic response to the competitions held
for the school children of the Borough - the future food handlers and housewives. The
standard of entry was very high, and it is clear that a valuable opportunity was taken and
fully utilised to impress the practical application of food hygiene, not only upon the
children but also upon their parents.
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