[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Crayford].
- Crayford (London, England). Urban District Council.
- Date:
- [1954?]
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: [Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Crayford]. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![latter disease being, generally speaking, of low virulence. There is more and more evidence that the great problem of the future will be the control of the virus infections. For tunately there were no cases of poliomyelitis during the year in the Urban District but it may now be regarded as an annual visitant and is, in fact, endemic in this country. There is, however, at the present time, a somewhat greater hope of controlling this disease by immunisation although vaccination against poliomyelitis is still very much in the experimental stage. It may be some years yet before a vaccine can be pro duced in such a reliable form that it can be depended upon to produce resistance to the virus of this disease. The welfare of old people continues to take up a considerable amount of the time of the department. The notification of an old person living alone, often in very bad conditions, may present itself as an emergency requiring immediate attention. It is often a serious problem to decide what is the best action to be taken. Admission to hospital sometimes provides a temporary respite to the difficulties of the old person, but still leaves the problem of what is going to happen when he or she is ready for discharge. A tribute is due to those volunteers, from many sources, who are pre pared to clean up the home and receive the old person on return from hospital. Recognition must also be given to the Woolwich Group Hospital Management Committee who are very co-operative in this matter. Often, however, in spite of all the contra-indications it is in the interests of the old person to be kept at home, however deplorable this may be and to apply, to the fullest extent, the social remedies which are available. In this connection, the Home Help Service is in valuable. Many old people ask for no more than to be allowed to keep their independence and their old homes and, where ever possible, this must be respected. The work of the Old People's Welfare Committee and the good neighbours of whom there are so many, often makes it possible for this solution to be applied. I have many times reported to the Health Committee that, although the death rate from tuberculosis has been falling rapidly during recent years due to great improvement in medical treatment, the notification rate has not shown a similar reduction. This may be due, in part, to better means of ascertainment, notably by means of Miniature Mass Radio graphy, but I have from time to time, suggested that an attack of the problem of tuberculosis from all possible angles, [ 4 ]](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b19786451_0006.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
