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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
vear.
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 notfied 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 ante-natal
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. BEAMLEY, M.D., Ch.B., D.P.H.,
Medical Officer of Health.
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