View report page

46
accidents occurring in the London boroughs, including Battersea. It will
be some time before this data is available but in the meantime, from
returns made by the London Ambulance Service, I have been able to
calculate figures for Battersea. I should say that the figures provided
do not refer to any individual borough but they are available for the
nine health divisions of the County. By means of certain calculations,
I have been able to extract figures relating to Battersea from the overall
figures presented for Health Division 9 of the London County Council
and these are shown in Tables 1 and 2. They represent the home
accident cases conveyed to hospitals in London by London Ambulances
and they include both fatal and non-fatal cases and also some that are
treated as out-patients as well as others treated as in-patients. I have
calculated the figures for Battersea for 1956, 1957 and 1958. I would
stress that the figures as set out are not absolutely accurate although
I do not think that the errors are likely to be very large. Generally
speaking, they can be taken as a reasonably accurate picture of the
home accidents which have occurred in Battersea in 1956, 1957 and
1958.
The figures speak for themselves and need little explanation. The
main points of interest are the high proportion of cases occurring in the
age groups over 60 and also in the age group under 5. Falls of various
kinds provide the greatest number of accidents although quite a
percentage are also brought about by knife-like wounds.
What is to be learnt from these figures? In most households
where a severe accident has already occurred, this very fact is probably
enough to ensure caution and care in the future. Our main effort,
therefore, should be directed towards education of the public, particularly
in those age groups most likely to be affected, that is to say, in early and
later life. This has now become a routine part of the work of health
visitors and public health inspectors working closely with other organisations,
both statutory and voluntary. The trend of the figures in future
years will be watched with interest as some indication of the effect
which our efforts are having.