[Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City.

  • Lincoln (England). City Council.
Date:
1955
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1955] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    well aware that the present Centre was most unsuitable and sometimes actually the main factor in the refusal of parents to permit attendance of their child. A trained Social Worker remains an outstanding need for the Care and After-Care of the mentally ill, when so often it is the environment which is acting as a deterrent to recovery. Ambulance Service The City Ambulance Service Survey by a representative of the Ministry of Health confirmed the opinion that this Service was both efficient and economically managed. Arising from this report, the Committee decided that a new Ambulance Station would require to be built, but as a short term solution to the un¬ satisfactory housing of the administrative staff it was decided to provide temporary offices by the erection of a prefabricated building. A Night Telephonist was appointed to aid with the continuous manning of the telephone, and the possibility of the Ambulance Station being denuded of staff during the night in the event of unusual demand now no longer exists. Care of Mothers and Children. The Toddlers Clinic, to which parents are invited by appointment to bring their children near the third and fourth birthdays, continued to be supported by appreciative parents. Unfortunately those most in need of help and advice are the ones who are least likely to attend, but this Clinic does tend to bridge the gap to school entry. The Ante-Natal Instruction Class for expectant mothers has now increas¬ ed in attendance to the extent that an additional afternoon session is regularly held. Statistical Section. One Maternal Death has to be recorded which is as unusual as it is unfortunate, the last Maternal Death being in 1951. The Infant Mortality Rate at 30.8 per 1,000 live births compares un¬ favourably with the national average of 24.9 and is most disappointing in view of last year’s record low figure. The Birth Rate continues to fall, being just below the national rate as is also the Death Rate. Infectious Disease. No case of Diphtheria was notified in the City, being the fifth year running for this pleasing situation. Measles became epidemic at an unseasonable time but was generally mild in character. Whooping Cough showed a tenfold increase on the previous year’s total and points to the need for wider protective immunisation being em¬ ployed. All the cases who developed the disease subsequent to protective inoculation were mild and without complication. The Tuberculosis Death Rate resumed the steady decline of recent years following last year’s set-back, while the notification rate continued to fall. Notified cases of Dysentery showed a marked fall, but one continues to doubt whether this represents the true incidence of the disease in the City.