[Report 1924] / Medical Officer of Health, Rochester City and Port.
- Rochester (Kent, England). City and Port Authority.
- Date:
- 1924
Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1924] / Medical Officer of Health, Rochester City and Port. Source: Wellcome Collection.
20/24 page 18
![ST. WILLIAM'S ISOLATION HOSPITAL. One hundred and twelve cases were admitted during the year. The average for the preceding 10 years is 288. One hundred and sixty-five cases were admitted in 192! : 240 in 1922 and 419 in 1921. ROCHESTER. Age. Scarlet Fever . Tvphoid Fever. Diphtheria. Total. Total from Rochester. Under Five ... 3 0 0 • ) o Five and upwards ... 2b 6 9 41 44 CHATHAM. Total from Chatham. Under Five ... 8 1 4 13 Five and upwards ... 20 18 10 54 07 68 25 23 111 111 In addition, one case of Cerebvo S pinal Meningitis was admitted from Rochester. The mortality was as follows :— Scarlet Fever There was one death Diphtheria • • • • • There was one death Typhoid Fever . . ... There was no death Cerebro Spinal Meningitis ... There was no death Average number of days detained in hospital:— Scarlet Fever ... • • 45-9 Diphtheria ... 322 Typhoid Fever ... 52-6 Oases which terminated in death, a id cases wrongly diagnosed are not included in these averages. From the above figures it is clear that the Hospital has had a very light year, and the mortality statistics, particularly with regard to Typhoid Fever are very satisfactory. There is one point, however, to which it is necessary to draw attention and that is, the large number of wrongly ‘diagnosed cases sent to the Hospital during the year. The percentage of such cases has rapidly risen in the last two years. It was 44 in 1922, 84 in 1928, and 12'7 in 1924. This shows a progressive rate of increase w hich is difficult to explain. It is inevitable that there should lie some cases of w rong diagnosis but the figures have now reached such a point as cannot be ignored. No case should be sent to an Isolation Hospital without the most careful consideration. It is unfair to the patient, it is unfair to the Hospital and dangerous to both, that a case should be sent in before all reasonable steps have been taken to make a reliable diagnosis. In Typhoid Fever and in Diphtheria such a diagnosis can be verified by bacteriological methods, and in all but the most obvious cases this should be done. It is to be hoped that the Medical Practitioners of the two Districts will co¬ operate with the Authorities, to the best of their ability, in this matter. Report as to Port Sanitary Authority. To the Chairman and Memreks of the Port Sanitary Committee. Health Department, Guildhall, Rochester Gentlemen. I have the honour to lay before you a Report of the Sanitary Work performed during the year 1924. FORM A. Amount of Shipping entering the Port Sanitary District during the year 1924. No. No. No. reported of order Number. Tonnage. Inspected. to be defective. issued. . Steamers Foreign ] Sailing 250 J 1 0, < 0 •J 224 89 89 17 9235 15 4 4 ( Fishing 0 0 0 0 0 Total Foreign 273 124,988 289 98 93 . Steamers Coastwise ■ Sailing ( Fishing 589 212,881 498 184 184 138 11,007 181 22 22 17 0 17 0 0 Total Coastwise 744 223,388 040 212 212 Total Foreign and Coastwise 1,017 348,37 0 885 305 305 All orders issued were informal and all were complied with.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30038741_0022.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
