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BEX 5 £
Health Department
14, Brampton Road
Bexleyheath, Kent.
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Your REF
G. F. B R A M LEV. M.D..D.P.H.
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
TELEPHONE, BEXLEYH EATH 224-4-/5.
9th September, 1940.
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH FOR 1939.
This report of the Medical Officer of Health is confined to
essential and urgent matters in accordance with the Ministry of
Health Circular 2067 of the 19th July, 1940. The Registrar
General's figures for 1939 have not yet been received,"but from
information in the possession of the Department,1939 can be
classed as a healthy year.
There was an increase in the incidence of Scarlet Fever up
to the middle of the year, but following the outbreak of war
very few cases were notified as with the other infectious
diseases.
Developments were held up for various reasons, but the
calls of civil defence on all members of the staff and the
calling up of two clerks and an assistant sanitary inspector at
the outbreak of war placed a great strain on the resources of
the staff.
Complaints generally fell off with the declaration of war
and housing work came to a standstill, but the Department had
additional work in dealing with matters of evacuation,
arrangements for decontamination of clothing and material,
disposal of war dead, and decontamination of foodstuffs.
Food and Drugs Act, 1938, came into operation in this area
on the 31st October, 1939, and sampling was commenced.
Maternity and Child Welfare, From the outbreak of war the
clinics opened as previously, and mothers were advised to bring
children at less frequent intervals to prevent large numbers
being present at one time,and so with smaller attendances the
Health"Visitors were able to concentrate more on home visiting.
At the Maternity Home there were more admissions as women
who had booked for other institutions which closed at the
outbreak of war were admitted where possible, and owing to the
difficulty of getting antenatal and abnormal intra-natal cases
into a maternity hospital some of these cases were dealt with at
the Home under the care of the Consultant Obstetrician.
GEO. F. BRAMLEY, M.D. , Ch.B. , D.P.H. ,
Medical Officer of Health.