[Report 1945] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City.

  • Leeds City Council
Date:
1945
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1945] / Medical Officer of Health, Leeds City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    48/122 (page 36)
    Buildings.—The Treatment Centre is housed in buildings which are quite inadequate for the volume of work being done, and unsuitable in design and equipment for the type of work. The lighting is poor. The accommodation is very small, and therefore overcrowding takes place, with risk of transmission of influenza and colds and other contagious diseases, and complete lack of privacy. There are virtually no laboratory facilities in the treatment centre itself and it is almost impossible to carry out work of this nature that would facilitate speedy diagnosis and treatment of patients. All specialists in venereal diseases are accustomed to doing, personally and at once, the staining and examination of films for gonococci, the examination by dark field illumination for spirochaeta pallida, and examination of wet films of vaginal discharge for trichomonas vaginalis.’ The provision of a small laboratory with two microscopes and certain other facilities would enable the treatment to be more efficient and speedy, and would save a con¬ siderable amount of money. It is very unfair to the patients and the medical staff to under¬ take certain forms of treatment or diagnostic procedures with the equipment and premises at present available. For example lumbar punctures should only be performed with a completely aseptic theatre ritual. This is quite impossible at present, though every precaution is taken to protect the patients. Certain diagnostic procedures, such as urethroscopy, are seldom performed at present, nor are intra-urethral operations for stricture of the urethra or removal of condylomata, etc. In-Patient Facilities.—Facilities are required and are lacking for treatment of in-patients. These are necessary for the treatment of such patients as require very detailed observation and investiga¬ tion, for treatment by penicillin, for fever therapy, and for the treatment of seiious complications. The Director of the Venereal Diseases Department is invited to co-operate in the treatment of large numbers of patients in the general wards of the Leeds General Infirmary. Examples of such cases are cases of tabes dorsalis, gumma of the brain, aortic aneurysm, coronary thrombosis, general paralysis, chronic urinary infection, acute arthritis, recurrent iritis,