View report page

19
Various services are provided by the Department for the tuberculous and
it would seem appropriate to set out the details here, and a brief summary of
help available is set out below:-
Home Care
- No. of visits by T.B. visitors
5,804
Home Nursing
- No. of patients being attended by home
nurses at end of year
13
Home Helps
- No. of cases being serviced by home
helps at end of year
26
boarding out of T.B. contacts -
4
Extra nourishment
No. of cases receiving nourishment at
end of year
145
B.C.G. Vaccination -
No. of contacts vaccinated
259
No. of 13 year old schoolchildren and
students vaccinated.
2,281
The area is covered by three chest clinics - Shoreditch chest Clinic
situated at 204 Hoxton Street, N.1., The Metropolitan Chest Clinic at the
Metropolitan Hospital, 335 Kingsland Road, E.8., and the T.B. Dispensary,
London Chest Hospital, Victoria Park, E. 2. The chest clinics are staffed by
medical staff from the Regional Hospital Board, but attached to them are T.B.
health visitors or T.B. visitors, employed directly by this Council; these
visitors attend at the clinics, and in addition undertake the appropriate social
work within the community. As well as the nursing staff, social workers and
clerical staff are supplied directly from the Health Department to some of the
clinics.
Two of the Consultant Chest Physicians report as follows concerning the
work of their clinics:-
Shoreditch Chest Clinic
"Tuberculosis still remains a problem and will remain so for some years.
The incidence is however decreasing and 54 new cases were diagnosed in the
area covered by this clinic in 1965.
The major part of the work of the clinic is concerned with the care of
chronic bronchitis and a high proportion of our patients are respiratory
cripples in some degree. Regular visits to the clinic appear to keep sufferers
of this chronic and disabling condition out of hospital and enable them to lead
a more active life than they would otherwise be able to.
The incidence of bronchial carcinoma continues to rise. Nineteen cases
were diagnosed here during the year and this number will be exceeded in 1966.
Co-operation with the Mass Radiography Units and the Local Authority has
been maintained, and we are very grateful for their help in solving epidemiological
problems."
Metropolitan Chest Clinic
"A total of 5, 641 patients attended the clinic during the year and of these
480 were referred by General Practitioners for the first time.
33 cases were notified as suffering from Pulmonary Tuberculosis, and there
were 7 non-respiratory cases. 101 contacts of these were given B.C.G.
Hospital beds are fortunately always available for the treatment of Chronic
Bronchitis and Emphysema, and 85 patients were admitted during the year.
52 of these attended the Clinic for the first time. A period in Hospital is
followed by supervision by the Chest Clinic. This enables the Bronchitic
patients to continue working with more confidence.