London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Chislehurst 1955
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Chislehurst]
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13
After two consecutive years with no maternal mortality, I have
to record, regretfully, that one maternal death occurred during 1955.
Full details of the causes of death will be found in Table II in the appendix, but the following information with regard to certain causes of death in the Urban District during the past five years may be of interest:—
| 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer (all sites) | 132 | 127 | 154 | 149 | 157 |
| Cancer of Lung, Bronchus | 22 | 21 | 38 | 36 | 44 |
| Respiratory Diseases (not Tuberculosis) | 89 | 72 | 80 | 73 | 87 |
| Heart and Circulatory Diseases | 361 | 377 | 325 | 320 | 353 |
| Tuberculosis | 30 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 7 |
| Infectious Diseases | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Road Traffic Accidents | 6 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 5 |
| Other Violent Causes | 12 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 10 |
| Suicide | 9 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 10 |
| Digestive Diseases | 18 | 11 | 17 | 14 | 14 |
The most encouraging feature of these figures is the continued
fall in the number of deaths from tuberculosis, which were only 7
compared with 14 in the previous year and 30 as recently as 1951.
It cannot of course be expected that the number of deaths attributable
to this disease can fall much further until the disease has been
eliminated from the community entirely.
There were 25 deaths from violence, including 5 road traffic
accidents, 10 other accidents, and 10 suicides. This compares unfavourably
with a total of 20 during 1954 and represents a tragic
and unnecessary loss of life.
The number of deaths from cancer rose by 8 in comparison
with 1954. and this rise was accounted for by the increase in the
deaths from cancer of the lung, which subject has been dealt with
more fully elsewhere in this report.
MORBIDITY STATISTICS.
A weekly return is received from the Regional Office of the
Ministry of National Insurance, giving details of the number of
certificates for sickness benefit received at the local office. These
figures give some indication of the seasonal trend of illness in the
area, and it will be seen that the year 1955 followed the expected
trend, i.e.. that the highest incidence of illness occurred during
January and February and then declined to its lowest level in
August, and then gradually rose again towards the end of the year.