[Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Stoke-upon-Trent Borough.

  • Stoke-on-Trent (England). Borough Council.
Date:
1951
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1951] / Medical Officer of Health, Stoke-upon-Trent Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Whooping Cough There were four deaths from Whooping Cough during the year, com¬ pared with 0 in 1950. Leaflets are distributed through the schools when necessary. This disease was made compulsorily notifiable in the later months of 1939 and during 1951, there were 624 cases notified. AMBULANCE SERVICE Vehicles On the 5th July, 1948, at the inception of the service there were ten ambulances and one sitting case car available for immediate use. Of these, eight ambulances and the car were taken over by the Local Health Authority from a number of hospitals within the City area and two ambulances from the police. Most of the vehicles, due to age and service already given, were found to be in a poor general condition mechanically, and had, therefore, served their usefulness and needed replacing, particularly in view of the sudden and increased demands made on the service after its formation. A number of these vehicles have been replaced during the past three years and numbers implemented by the acquisition of new vehicles. During this year, two standard type ambulances, two sitting case ambulances and one sitting case car have been obtained and put into service. At the 31st December, the vehicle strength was eighteen ambulances and five cars for sitting cases. After the service had been functioning for several months it became apparent that the type of case which had to be catered for in the main was the sitting case patient attending hospital out-patient departments. In order to provide suitable transport for this type of case, the two sitting case ambulances or “dual-purpose” vehicles, were purchased. These vehicles are constructed to accommodate eight sitting cases, but are so designed as to enable their use as ambulances for stretcher cases should the need arise. One ambulance is set aside for the conveyance of infectious cases. Calls on Service Calls for ambulance service transport are received at the ambulance station (Phone No. 48551) and may be classified under three headings :— (a) Immediate—emergency and urgent calls. (b) Non-urgent—as soon as possible. (c) Advanced Bookings—where a definite time and date ahead is given for the case to be dealt with, usually patients to attend hospital for treatment.