[Report 1926] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City.

  • Wakefield (England). City Council.
Date:
1926
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1926] / Medical Officer of Health, Wakefield City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    70/74 (page 68)
    A circular letter was sent to each medical practitioner explain¬ ing the new Regulations. The Public Health (Ophthalmia Neonatorum) Regulations, 1926. These Regulations, which came into force on Ist October, 1926, revoke the 1914 Regulations, and put the sole responsibility for notifying the disease on medical practitioners. The previous regulations included midwives amongst the persons responsible for notification, but this requirement is now abolished, although midwives must still send for medical aid when there is anv in- flammation of or discharge from the eyes of an infant under their care. In connection with these Regidations the Ministry of Health advised that facilities should be provided for the proper nursing of these cases and also suggested that Local Authorities should not seek to recover fees for medical aid called in such causes a,s this concession would probably facilitate the obtaining of medical aid. For several years the Wakefield Corporation has had arrangements for the admission of cases of Ophthalmia to the Clayton Hospital and also for home nursing, through the Health Visitors. The Corporation has also decided not to recover fees for medical aid in cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum and midwives have been so notified. Ophthalmia Neonatorum. 7 cases of Ophthalmia Neonatorum (purulent inflammation of the eyes of the new-born), 0-6 per cent, of the registered births were notified as compared with 3 in 1925, 6 in 1924, 11 in 1923, 19 in 1922 and 13 in 1921. Cases. 1 Vision Un¬ impaired. Vision Impaired. Total Blindness. Deaths. Ca.ses Notified. Treated. At Home. In Hospital 7 5 2 7 — — — In 6 cases the coniinemeiit had been axtended by a midwife and in the other by a neighbour. In 3 cases the Health Visitors gave nursing assistance. The two cases treated in hospital were born in the White Rose Hospital and were treated there. All the cases recovered without any impairment of vision.