[Report 1942] / Medical Officer of Health, Leigh Borough.

  • Leigh (Lancashire, England). Borough Council.
Date:
1942
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1942] / Medical Officer of Health, Leigh Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    14/28 (page 12)
    attends the clinic steps are taken to see that other members of the house¬ hold who are affected receive treatment and to persuade the non-affected members to receive prophylactic treatment as contacts. Scabies is a condition in which one is not likely to attain maximum success in pre¬ vention unless provision is made for all the members of an affected family to be treated simultaneously. We have had no difficulty in per¬ suading families to have treatment and it has not been necessary to take any legal action under the Scabies Order. The clinic for the treatment of scabies has been established on the ground floor at premises situated at Stone House, St. Helens Hoad, Leigh. This portion of Stone House was originally a First Aid Post, but is not now used as such. A spray type of bath is given with apparatus which had been provided for gas casualties. There is separate provision for the bathing of male and female patients. The therapeutic agent used is a 25% emulsion of Benzl Benzoate. In view of Mellanby’s findings the disinfestation of clothing and bedding is not made a routine practice. Such disinfestation is carried out in individual cases when the circum¬ stances warrant it. A morning session is set aside each day of the week save Sunday, for the treatment of children. Adults are treated by arrangement at time convenient to them. Local practitioners have been fully informed of these facilities for the treatment of scabies, which are freely available to all residents of the Borough. The personnel at present employed at the treatment centre con¬ sists of two trained nurses, 6 female workers and one male worker. They all belong to the Casualty Section of the Civil Defence Organisation. The orderlies have been trained in their duties and work under the super¬ vision of the trained nurses and the Medical Officer of Health or his Assistant. The male orderly is concerned with the treatment of adult males. Hospitals—Public. The hospital facilities remain as outlined in last year’s report. The accommodation at the Municipal Maternity Home again proved inade¬ quate to meet the demands made upon it. As a result 122 prospective patients had to be refused admission during the year. Midwifery Service. The Domiciliary Municipal Midwives attended 350 cases in 1942. They acted either in the capacity of a midwife or a maternity nurse. There is only one midwife in private practice in the borough.