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 1947
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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Scarlet Fever.—This disease continued to be of a mild type. No death from this disease has
occurred in the Borough since 1937, and the incidence of the disease (62 cases) was the lowest in the Borough
records. Of these 62 cases 24 were admitted to hospital.
aspects of public health to various organisations in the Borough. The staff of the Department in their
contact with people in their homes and at clinics have continuous opportunity for health education and
the importance of this aspect of their work should not be forgotten.
Medical Examination of Staff.—For superannuation and other purposes members of the staff of
the Council and Middlesex County Council were referred to the Health Department for medical examination.
During the year 186 such medical examinations were carried out as compared with 75 in 1946.
Removal of Aged or Infirm.—The necessary applications were made to Court for the extension
of the Order under Section 272 of the Middlesex County Council Act, 1944, by which an aged and infirm
person was removed to an institution in 1946.
Health Visitors.—Twelve Health Visitors were employed and they acted also as School Nurses and Child Life Protection Visitors. A summary of their work other than as School Nurses, is given below:—
| 1946 | 1947 | |
|---|---|---|
| Attendances at infant welfare centres | 877 | 942 |
| Attendances at ante-natal clinics | 605 | 618 |
| Attendances at diphtheria immunisation clinics | 199 | 219 |
| Attendances at scabies clinics | 135 | 160 |
| Visits to expectant mothers— First | 683 | 755 |
| Subsequent | 97 | 63 |
| Visits to mothers (post-natal) | 11 | 12 |
| Visits to children under 1 year old First | 1,449 | 1,767 |
| Subsequent | 2,755 | 3,054 |
| Visits to children, 1 to 5 years old | 4,255 | 4,354 |
| Visits re stillbirths | 31 | 37 |
| Visits re infant deaths | 37 | 61 |
| Visits re inflammation of babies' eyes | 36 | 15 |
| Visits re infectious disease in children under school age | 277 | 465 |
| Visits re child life protection | 373 | 246 |
| Visits, miscellaneous | 577 | 350 |
| Visits—no access or person not at home | 2,064 | 2,186 |
It should be remembered that health visitors, except when acting as child life protection visitors,
have no legal powers behind them, and the success of their efforts is dependent on sound knowledge,
persuasion, and perseverence and the greatest of these probably the last. The National Health Service
Act envisages the health visitor, extending her health educational activities to cover all members of the
family. No matter what clinic facilities be provided, home visiting will continue to be the most important
part of a health visitor's work. With our present staff of health visitors home visiting is falling short of
need, and no extension of duties can be undertaken till our establishment of health visitors is increased.
INFECTIOUS DISEASE
Incidence of Notifiable Diseases.—The numbers of cases notified during the last eight years are shown below:—
| 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945 | 1946 | 1947 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smallpox | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Scarlet fever | 96 | 117 | 190 | 280 | 130 | 124 | 67 | 62 |
| Diphtheria | 73 | 37 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 16 | 3 |
| Erysipelas | 35 | 20 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 19 |
| Pneumonia | 200 | 124 | 72 | 116 | 50 | 25 | 47 | 56 |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 43 | 34 | 12 | — | 3 | 11 | 13 | 8 |
| Epidemic encephalitis | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 1 | — | — |
| Poliomyelitis and | 43 | |||||||
| polioencephalitis | 1 | 1 | — | — | 3 | 7 | 1 | |
| Typhoid fever | 3 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1 | 1 |
| Paratyphoid fever | 1 | 30 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Dysentery | — | — | 2 | — | 22 | 28 | 6 | — |
| Tuberculosis— | ||||||||
| Pulmonary | 121 | 157 | 177 | 165 | 167 | 128 | 200 | 160 |
| Non-pulmonary | 9 | 17 | 25 | 25 | 17 | 29 | 17 | 20 |
| Ophthalmia neonatorum | 2 | 5 | 3 | — | 5 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Puerperal pyrexia | 42 | 22 | 58 | 105 | 87 | 45 | 54 | 60 |
| Measles | 1,109 | 580 | 1,085 | 636 | 219 | 1,109 | 170 | 840 |
| Whooping cough | 123 | 286 | 243 | 134 | 171 | 110 | 170 | 142 |
| Malaria | — | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | 1 | — |
12
The age distribution of notifiable disease during 1947 is shown in Table V.
Diphtheria.—The number of cases (3) was the lowest recorded in the Borough and for the second
time in recent years no death from diphtheria occurred.
The incidence and death rate of this disease
from 1900 are shown in the following table:—