Annual report for 1904 of the Medical Officer of Health.

  • Chelsea (London, England). Metropolitan Borough.
Date:
1905
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: Annual report for 1904 of the Medical Officer of Health. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    28/43 page 28
    28 30 cases (22 per cent.) the family occupied one room only. In 26 cases (19 per cent.) the deceased infant had been the first child. Excluding the latter, in 46 cases out of the remaining 101, previous infantile deaths had occurred. In one family ten children had previously died under two years of age. In four cases, two infantile deaths (one in one instance twins) occurred in the same family within the year. Of the deoeased infants 15 (11 per oent.) were stated to be illegitimate, two of which had been entirely handed over to the charge of other people. Since much of the mortality among infants may be traced to improper feeding and ignoranoe on the part of the mother, a leaflet containing simple instructions has been drawn up. In future where it seems desirable, those houses at which a birth has ocourred will be visited and a leaflet given to the mother. Phthisis. All cases of phthisis voluntarily notified by Medical Practitioners have been visited. A few cases have also been unofficially reported from other sources, such as the Charity Organization, and the Hospital Almoner. Inquiries were made in eaoh case as to the probable cause of the disease, the conditions under which the patient was living, and whether due precautions were being taken to prevent other members of the same family being infected, &c. Simple instructions were given as regards ventilation, cleanliness, and treatment of expeotoration. Where it seemed desirable, pocket spittoons, fibre handkerchiefs, leaflets of instructions, and disinfectants were distributed. The visits, which are repeated at intervals, are paid as far as possible in a friendly manner rather than officially, in order that the patients and their friends may understand that all information is voluntary on their part; also that they may be encouraged to state their difficulties (if any) in carrying out the necessary precautions. Other oases suspicious of phthisis have been noted in house to house visiting. It would seem that in the earlier stages of consumption, many amongst the very poor neglect to get medical treatment until such time as the symptoms become acute, and there is inability to follow the usual employment. The danger of delay is then pointed out. School Cases. Measles remained prevalent throughout the summer, especially in West Chelsea. All premises at which cases of measles were reported by the schools during the year have been visited, amounting to 251. This number does not include duplicate notifications, nor more than one case at each house. The actual number of cases would therefore be considerably greater. The total number of visits paid was 585. Since September, all non-notifiable infeotious or contagious cases have been visited, such as mumps, whooping cough, chicken-pox (when non notifiable), and ringworm.
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