View report page

cases was removed to the North Wimbledon Cottage
Hospital and a nurse engaged by the Corporation to attend
the other patients.
Puerperal Fever.—During the year three cases were
notified. Two of these, occurring in January, were attended
by a registered Midwife trained and certified by the London
Obstretical Society.
Immediately an undue rise of temperature occurred in
the first of these patients the Midwife, as required by the
Rules of the Central Midwives Board, called in medical aid.
It was some days before the Doctor could certify as Puerperal
Fever, and in the meantime she had been in attendance on
the second patient.
Immediately on receipt of the notification the Midwife
was warned not to attend further cases, and she readily
gave me all information possible. Both patients died.
Enquiries were made from the practitioners called in to
each case, who agreed there was no fault or neglect on the
part of the Midwife, and this is borne out by the fact that
lying in cases at her own home and attended by her were
not affected, or did any further cases occur in her practice.
The clothing and person of the Midwife was disinfected
under my supervision, but her kit bag and contents instead
of being disinfected were burnt in the fire in my office by
the Midwife and on her own initiative.
The third case, in September, was of a Poor Law
patient who was removed to the Workhouse Infirmary
at Kingston.
Erysipelas.—This disease was somewhat more prevalent
than during the previous year. There were 54 cases
notified, but no death registered—against 32 cases last year
with five deaths.
Whooping Cough.—An outbreak of Whooping Cough
commencing in a portion of South Park Ward, East of
Haydon's Road in January rapidly extended to all carts of
the Borough, being most severe in the first four months
of the year when twenty-four deaths were registered ; this
was the cause of an unusually high infantile mortality rate
for the same period, one death occurring in each month
of the year except August made the total number of deaths
from this disease 30, giving a death-rate of '58, the highest
for many years.
Quite ninety per cent, of the deaths were of children of
either the working or poorer classes in whose homes, for
many and well-known reasons, the requisite precautions
against exposure to cold cannot be taken or the necessary
nursing and warmth provided.
13