[Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City.

  • Edinburgh (Scotland). City Council.
Date:
1958
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1958] / Medical Officer of Health, Edinburgh City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/286 (page 4)
    It is concluded that a campaign of this sort is a useful and justifiable method of case-finding for tuberculosis and other serious chest diseases. It is particularly suitable in communities where the disease appears to be coming satisfactorily under control and it may advance the day of final conquest of tuberculosis in a community by several years. Many tributes have been paid to the loyal, untiring work of all who took part in this tremendous campaign, the success of which proved beyond doubt that only with the understanding, the support and the participation of the citizens can health programmes be truly effective. Edinburgh has pioneered this theme for years and it is to be hoped that from the excellent foundation of the voluntary workers’ organisations so actively engaged in the campaign there will emerge permanent bodies of citizens to foster and encourage health projects in every local community in the city. Other aspects of the work in the prevention of tuberculosis are detailed in the appropriate section. As would be expected, there was a considerable increase j in notifications of pulmonary tuberculosis, 694 new cases being reported in 1958, compared with 276 the previous year. The contribution of the X-ray Campaign is well brought out when it is realised that 65 per cent, of these new cases came to light by mass miniature radiography, which contrasts with 19 per cent, last year, i There were only 29 deaths, a welcome decrease of 5 on 1957, bringing the rate i down to 6 per thousand of the population. Laundry services were again provided for infective cases and 23 households received help during the year. The average j weekly number of families assisted was 11 and a total of 6,180 articles were washed and laundered after disinfection. The re-housing of patients with active disease continued as before, 112 families being rehoused under the Corporation’s priority scheme for tuberculosis, i Home Accident Prevention The Secretary of State for Scotland invited the co-operation of all local authorities in the national “ Guard That Fire ” campaign and the Health Com-< mittee responded by collaborating with the Edinburgh Accident Prevention! Council and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents in promoting a campaign for the prevention of home accidents during the first week of November.! In addition to the intensive publicity adopted to bring the campaign and its objectives to the notice of the public, a large-scale exhibition was organised ir vacant store premises in the centre of the city. Detailed reports of the exhibitior and of the whole campaign are given at page 133 of this report. It is extremelv satisfactory to record that during the five days the exhibition was open, approxi mately 5,000 persons saw the many exhibits, which included displays of safety furniture and furnishings and flame-proof material, photographic and mode displays, demonstration of fireguard manufacture, film shows, talks and a fashioi display. Most of the recognised publicity methods were used during the campaigi with considerable success. Pamphlets, booklets, posters and stickers were wide! distributed and articles or advertisements appeared regularly in the newspaper?