[Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex County Council.

  • Middlesex (England). County Council. n 99020326.
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Middlesex County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    15 The number of vaccinations against smallpox carried out at London Airport during 1964 was 3,576, or more than double the number for the previous year. The majority of these vaccinations related to passengers arriving from countries which were regarded as “ clean ”, prior to the introduction of the recent legislation. Advice notices to destination medical officers of health placing passengers under surveillance totalled 2,493, compared with 1,056 in 1963. Four passengers who arrived at the airport from a declared locally infected smallpox area were isolated in hospital after they had refused vaccination. It may be recalled that in December, 1963, the Minister of Health formally designated the Health Control Unit at London Airport as a Yellow Fever Vaccination Centre. During the twelve months ending 31st December, 1964, nineteen vaccinations against yellow fever were carried out. Ambulance Cases.—The following statistics relate to cases transported in 1964:— (a) National Health Service . . .. 751 (b) Private Ambulances . . .. . . 492 (c) Service Transport .. .. .. 121 L364 The number of calls made upon the Ministry of Aviation ambulances at the airport during the year for passenger removals was 1,938. The airport ambulances were also called for accidents within and around the airport on 233 occasions. Last year I referred to the future of the ambulance arrangements at the airport being under discussion. An agreement was reached, without prejudice to the legal position, whereby the Ministry of Aviation would continue to keep available a manned ambulance for the conveyance of genuine stretcher cases from the aircraft to the Medical Centre, for which the County Council would make a payment. Further meetings took place to see how the removal of passengers from aircraft to the medical centre could be speeded up and as a result, all clearance through health, immigration and customs controls of invalids is to be carried out by airline representatives, whose responsibility it will also be to reunite passports and baggage with the patient, who, in the meantime has been conveyed to the medical centre. This change has relieved the nursing staff of the risks to which they had always been subject in the past in connection with the clearance through Customs of passengers’ baggage in the absence of the owner. Aircraft Emergencies.—Although in 1964 the 187,500 aircraft movements in and out of the airport reached a record figure there were no accidents. Full emergencies were called on 54 occasions but in each case, the aircraft landed safely. B