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compared with 15,488 in Census year; that of the age group 5-10 years
13,704 against 29,999; and that between 10 and 15 years 14,208
compared with 14,877.
Of the six Wards into which the District is divided, the housing and
general conditions favourable to health are most general in Hoe Street
and Hale End Wards. The 1,680 acres of undeveloped land lie in
Higham Hill and Hale End Wards, or the northern portion of the
District.
All the other Wards are practically built over, and contain a good deal
of poorly built and badly kept property. The houses—more particularly
near St. James Street and Wood Street Railway Stations—are largely
occupied by persons of the casual labour type, who possess no house
pride and are satisfied to live in mean streets, in houses made squalid
by the occupants and by want of attention on the part of the landlords.
HOSPITALS AND POOR-LAW RELIEF.
CHILDREN'S AND GENERAL HOSPITAL.
This institution is situated in the Hoe Street Ward, and contains fifty
beds. It provides for the free admission and treatment of persons
residing in Wanstead and Leyton as well as in Walthamstow, that is,
for a population of over 270,000.
The Public Health Authority subsidises two beds for the treatment of
Typhoid patients, and these have sufficed so far. During the year only
two patients were admitted and these were subsequently found to be
suffering from other diseases.
There is no resident Medical Officer, and the Staff—an honorary
one—consists entirely of busy general practitioners resident in the areas
served.
There is attached to the Hospital an Out-patient Department, which
is open for a few hours daily. This building is modern and was specially
erected for the purpose.
Of the 573 indoor patients treated during the year, the Hospital
Report does not disclose how many of these were Walthamstow residents,
but presumably most of the 4,655 outdoor patients were.
The attendances made by the out-patients—Medical, 1,759; Surgical,
2,896—averaged less than 4 each, and the number of patients daily
attending was 15.
The number of patients indoor and outdoor were greater than in
1919.
"Judged by the number of out-patients the Hospital is not much
resorted to by the people of Walthamstow, nor can the Institution claim
to serve adequately the needs of this District.