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
Hayes 1925
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]
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5
The Urban District of Hayes is situated 11 miles West of London. The
district generally is flat, the highest point above Ordnance Datum being 180 feet
at Charville Lane and the lowest 82 feet at the Watersplash in North Hyde Road.
In the South Ward are a number of large factories which give employment to
many thousands of persons ; in the East Ward is situated the Council's principal
Housing Estate, while the North and West portions of the district are mainly
agricultural.
The principal occupations of the inhabitants are in connection with the
factories and agriculture.
The soil North of the Uxbridge Road is clayey, and south of that Road
consists mainly of gravel.
2.—EXTRACT FROM VITAL STATISTICS OF THE YEAR.
| Births :— | Total. | M. | F. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legitimate | 205 | 102 | 103 | ||
| Illegitimate | 4 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Birth Rate (R.G.) | 23.6 | ||||
| Deaths:— | 68 | 39 | |||
| Death Rate (R.G.) | 7.6 | ||||
| Number of Women dying in or in consequence of childbirth | Nil. | ||||
| Deaths of Infants under one year of age : — | |||||
| Legitimate, 12; Illegitimate, 1 | Total | 13 | |||
| Death Rate per thousand Births | 61.7 | ||||
| Deaths from Measles (all ages) | Nil. | ||||
| Deaths from Whooping Cough (all ages) | 3 | ||||
| Deaths from Diarrhcea (under 2 years) | Nil. | ||||
A climate which has a high humidity and a large rainfall is very beneficial
to vegetation, but it acts injuriously on mankind by raising the level of the sub-soil
water and thus rendering buildings and their surroundings damp. In misty
districts with a large rainfall the prevalent disease is anaemia. Wind is generally
beneficial, it removes exhalations of all kinds and promotes complete ventilation
of the atmosphere.
Soil humidity is associated in many cases with atmospheric humidity, so