Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Port of London]
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5. Arrangements for —
(a) Hospital accommodation for infectious diseases (other than smallpox — see Section VII);
NO CHANGE
(b) Surveillance and follow up of contacts; NO CHANGE
(c) Cleansing and disinfection of ships, persons, clothing and other articles. NO CHANGE
DENTON HOSPITAL
Although Denton Hospital was taken over by the South East Metropolitan Regional Hospital
Board under the National Health Service Act, 1946 the Port Health Authority continues to exercise,
through the Senior and Assistant Port Medical Officers, the medical supervision of cases
admitted to the hospital. The nursing and administrative control lies with the Dartford Hospital
Management Committee. Consultant advice on difficult cases is available through the PhysicianSuperintendent
of Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford.
The number of cases admitted to Denton Hospital in 1966 was as follows:—
Chickenpox 8
Bronchitis 2
Axillary Abscess 1
Measles 1
Glandular Fever 1
Infectious Hepatitis 1
Influenza 1
Rubella 2
Typhoid Fever 2
Miscellaneous 7
Tonsillitis 3
TOTAL 29
SECTION VII - SMALLPOX
1. Name of Isolation Hospital to which smallpox cases are sent from the District.
Long Reach Hospital is situated on the south bank of the River Thames about eight miles
above Gravesend. The hospital consists of 10 ward blocks capable of accommodating 170 patients
but, except in cases of emergency, only three ward blocks (2 of 20 beds and 1, a cubicle ward, of
10 beds, total 50 beds) are kept available for immediate use. The hospital includes residential
quarters for the staff and a laundry, although the administration and staffing is carried out from
Joyce Green Hospital, Dartford.
2. Arrangements for transport of such cases to that Hospital by ambulance giving the name of
the Authority responsible for the ambulance and the vaccinal state of the ambulance crews.
A case or cases of smallpox would be removed from the vessel by this Authority's Ambulance
launch and conveyed ashore via the pontoon at Denton and from thence conveyed by road ambulance
direct to Long Reach Hospital.
The Port Health Authority would be responsible for the vaccinal state of their Ambulance
Launch crews, while the vaccinal state of the Road Ambulance personnel would be the concern of
the ambulance authority, the Greater London Council.
3. Names of smallpox consultants available
Dr. W.T.G. Boul M.B.E. Dr. J.C. Blake (Outer Kent) Dr. H.S. Banks (Surrey)
Dr. E.H. Brown Dr. C.F.L.Hill (Bexley,Greenwich and West Kent)
Dr. J.D. Kershaw Dr. G.D.W. McKendrick Dr. A. Melvin Ramsay
Dr. E. O' Sullivan
4. Facilities for laboratory diagnosis of smallpox
Facilities are available at the Virus Laboratory at the Central Public Health Laboratory,
Colindale.
Examination of International Certificates of Vaccination against Smallpox
By the provisions of the Public Health (Ships) Regulations, 1966, the Medical Officer may
require the production of international certificates of vaccination against smallpox by persons
arriving from abroad and will require production of such certificates if so requested by the Minister
of Health. The Minister has requested that all persons arriving on ships coming within 14 days,
from smallpox locally infected or endemic areas be in possession of such a certificate and this
applies whether the persons have themselves come from these areas or not.
Because of the difficulty of examining vaccination certificates of persons arriving in the Port
of London where ships discharge their passengers at widely divergent points, shipping companies
have been asked to arrange for lists of smallpox vaccination certificates of passengers and crew,
8.