Medical Officers of Health Papers

The role of Medical Officer of Health was initially created in response to public health concerns of the nineteenth-century Industrial Revolution and continued to develop throughout the nineteenth to late twentieth centuries. Under the Metropolis Local Management Act 1855, London municipalities were each required to appoint a medical officer, and local authorities across the country followed suit. Officers were assigned a district and were responsible for reporting back the general health of the population there, most typically in the form of an annual report. This would include data on birth and death rates, infant mortality, and incidence of infectious and other diseases. Over time the reports became more standardised and increased in detail and scope: by the 1930s, details on the use of maternity and child welfare clinics, venereal disease clinics, poor law infirmaries and municipal hospitals can also be seen in many reports.