[Report 1942] / Medical Officer of Health, Cumberland County Council.

  • Cumberland (England). County Council.
Date:
1942
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1942] / Medical Officer of Health, Cumberland County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the total deaths in all the ’Ruval Districts of the County from pulmonary tuberculosis. During this year, for, I think, the first time, Ennerdale Rural District claims more than one half of the deaths in all the Rural Districts of the County. This really is a very serious, one would almost say an appalling state of affairs. It means that a district with a population of approximately 27,000 during 1042 had more deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis than all the other Rural Districts in the County with an aggregate population of approximately 100r(K)0. Even allowing for the nature of the industries of the district, that is iron and coal mining, for bad homsing, for the effects of economic depression, and possibly certain racial tendencies, neverthele.ss if is clear that the figure is unreasonably high and calls for better housing, better supervision of mine workers, and perhaps above all for the provision of beds for advanced cases by the County Council where the infective elements can be segregated from the rest of the population. Obviously, too, if the district were to slip back into another period of economic depression matters would get worse instead of better because undoubtedly we are seeing in this high tuberculo.sis figure the aftermath of economic depression. Our approximate bed accommodation occupied at the different institutions during the year was as follows :— Pulmonary Tuberculosis. Beds. At Blencathra Sanatorium ... .. .. 38 At Meathop Sanatorium . . .. . . 20 At Stannington Sanatorium . . .. .. 14 This accommodation is insufficient even to ensure no unreasonable delay in admission to sanatoria. In a number of cases patients have had to wait anything up to three months for a sanatorium bed. This of course is wrong. Attempts have been made to secure additional beds by application to Sanatorium .Authorities all over the North of England and the South of Scotland. .Appeals for help have also been addressed to the Ministry of Health. No additional beds, however, have materialised as a result of these e.xplorations. Many, in fact most, patients have expressed willingness to accept accommodation if necessary at considerable distances from their homes, but the beds could not in fact be obtained. I understand that in an adjoining area in which the Mini.stry were proposing to transfer certain E.M.S. hosjutal beds for the treatment of tuberculosis the offer could not be acce])teti through shortage of nursing staff.