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
Heston and Isleworth 1946
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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A summary of their work is given below:—
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attendances at infant welfare centres | 592 | 696 | 704 | 726 | 725 | 766 | 830 | 877 |
| Attendances at ante-natal clinics | 339 | 447 | 519 | 550 | 547 | 555 | 554 | 605 |
| Attendances at diphtderia immunisation clinics | 129 | 170 | 324 | 305 | 289 | 187 | 199 | 199 |
| Attendances at scabies clinics | — | — | — | 391 | 103 | 124 | 126 | 135 |
| Visits to expectant motders— | ||||||||
| First | 148 | 179 | 315 | 226 | 308 | 321 | 208 | 683 |
| Subsequent | 65 | 53 | 125 | 71 | 76 | 38 | 55 | 97 |
| Visits to motders (post-natal) | 9 | 28 | 21 | 10 | 11 | 14 | 11 | |
| Visits to children under 1 year old— | ||||||||
| First | 1,315 | 1,264 | 1,107 | 1,202 | 1,511 | 1,336 | 1,309 | 1,449 |
| Subsequent | 2,089 | 2,887 | 3,434 | 2,960 | 3,878 | 3,106 | 3,293 | 2,755 |
| Visits to children 1 to 5 years old | 3,256 | 4,790 | 4,775 | 3,949 | 4,827 | 3,722 | 4,424 | 4,255 |
| Visits re stillbirtds | 29 | 29 | 36 | 38 | 36 | 24 | 29 | 31 |
| Visits re infant deatds | 54 | 67 | 50 | 85 | 56 | 64 | 70 | 37 |
| Visits re inflamation of babies' eyes | 49 | 65 | 148 | 67 | 55 | 61 | 20 | 36 |
| Visits re infectious disease in children under school age | 177 | 487 | 553 | 382 | 294 | 260 | 573 | 277 |
| Visits re child life protection | 421 | 489 | 499 | 475 | 591 | 452 | 585 | 373 |
| Visits, miscellaneous | 374 | 584 | 651 | 415 | 301 | 343 | 295 | 577 |
| Visits—no access or person not at home | 1,044 | 2,178 | 2,512 | 2,416 | 2,880 | 3,013 | 2,605 | 2,064 |
In 1946 many visits were made to investigate home conditions on behalf of West Middlesex County
Hospital where admission for confinement or early discharge after confinement was under consideration.
No matter what clinic or treatment facilities are provided there will always be need for home
visiting by Health Visitors. It is not enough to know that a mother and child are attending a clinic as
without an appreciation of the environmental conditions the best advice cannot be given. A proportion
of mothers, by reason of indifference, distance or domestic conditions, do not attend infant welfare centres
and can only be reached through home visiting. A mother will discuss her problems with the Health
Visitor more freely in her own home than in a busy welfare centre, and effective home visiting by efficient
Health Visitors is of primary importance, especially in maternity and child welfare. Despite a considerable
increase in clinic sessions our establishment of Health Visitors has not changed since 1937 and therefore
if home visiting is to be carried out in a thorough and unhurried manner, additional staff will be needed.
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
INCIDENCE OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASE.—The numbers of cases notified during the last eight years are shown below:—
| 1939 | 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallpox | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scarlet fever | 175 | 96 | 117 | 190 | 280 | 130 | 124 | 67 |
| Diphtheria | 51 | 73 | 37 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 16 |
| Erysipelas | 23 | 35 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 19 |
| Pneumonia | 142 | 200 | 124 | 72 | 116 | 50 | 25 | 47 |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 6 | 43 | 34 | 12 | — | 3 | 11 | 13 |
| Epidemic encephalitis | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — |
| Poliomyelitis and polioencephalitis | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| Typhoid fever | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1 |
| Paratyphoid fever | — | 1 | 30 | 1 | — | — | — | — |
| Dysentery | 1 | — | — | 2 | — | 22 | 28 | 6 |
| Tuberculosis: Pulmonary | 118 | 121 | 157 | 177 | 165 | 167 | 128 | 200 |
| Non-pulmonary | 14 | 9 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 17 | 29 | 17 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 4 | 2 | 5 | 3 | — | 5 | 3 | 2 |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 61 | 42 | 22 | 58 | 105 | 87 | 45 | 54 |
| Measles (from 1940) | — | 1,109 | 580 | 1,085 | 636 | 219 | 1,109 | 170 |
| Whooping-cough (from 1940) | — | 123 | 286 | 243 | 134 | 171 | 110 | 170 |
| Malaria | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 |