[Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Spilsby R.D.C.

  • Spilsby (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1948
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1948] / Medical Officer of Health, Spilsby R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/36 (page 2)
    General provision of Health services. Laboratory examinations are carried out by the Public Health Laboratory Service at Lincoln. This service (started as a war-time emergency service; is now very extensively used by medical men. in the District and by this Health Department for the bacteriological analysis of water samples. Complete analyses of drinking water samples,when needed,are carried out by Messrs. W.W, Taylor of Nottingham. All hospitals clinics and ambulances have been taken over under the National Health Act. The Spilsby Cottage Hospital and the Gables Public Institution are now me unit under one set of officers and in the Boston Board Group. Spilsby has lost the Ambulance which it has always had, and when required now an ambulance is obtained from the Seirvice Station at Skegness, where there is a whole-time night and day service. This arrangement has on the whole worked v/ell, but if an ambulance could be kept at Spilsby (which is the centre of the Disti’ict) and serviced from Skegness, it would be quicker to get in some emergencies. Under the Act there has been a rearrangement of hospitals for infectious diseases. Osgodby fever hospital, to which hitherto most of our infectious diseases have been sent, is nov/ a children's convalescent home. Skegness Infectious Diseases Hospital is closed and classified as a reserve Infectious Disease Hospital. Infectious diseases if requiring hoppital treatment now go to Scarthoe or Boston. Midwifery and Nui^smg services are practically unaltered under the Act. All the District Nmses are trained for and equipped with gas and air apparatus for midwifery work, and the benefits obtained are much appreciated. Owing to che difficulty of getting efficient help in the homes there is an increasing tendency for women to wish to go to hospital for their confinements, but owing to shortage of beds normal cases can only be admitted for first cases or if home conditions are so bad as to necessitate it. Every year the proportion of old to the rest of the population is increasing, and this trend will continue. With this comes the increasing difficulty of their care and treatment when sick. Many of the aged live by themselves, and elderly people suffer nearly twice as much sickness as those of working age (the actual figure being in the ratio of 7 to 4), furthermore their illnesses often last so long that it is frequently difficult to get them adequate treatment. The n’omber of hospital beds for the nursing of the aged sick is not nearly sufficient. Scabies. Pew cases of Scabies have been notified to me dviring the year. This disease which is fostered by dirty conditions, overcrowding and bad housing, is one which should be and in time will be completely got rid of. Venereal Diseases. I have had no primary cases of these diseases reported to me during 1948. There is a clinic at Skegness for their treatment. Diphtheria. Imm’ani.sation of children. The health department of the County Council took over this scheme in its entirety in July. All children can be iirmrunised free of cost either at the clinics or by their own doctor. I would like again to impress upon all parents and teachers the importance of this protection for children against Diphtheria; since its inception the incidence of disease and the death roll from it have been reduced very greatly. If all children were protected diphtheria would cease to be a menace to society. ]>iL'ing the year one case was notified and that in a child whose parents had not allovred their son to be Immunised. During the year the following number of children were immunised against Diphtheria in the Spilsby Rural District:- Under 5 years of age .. .. 9 to 14 years of age Boosters (i.e. those who have had a 285. 22. reinforcing dose) • • • • 5. 2 -