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ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR THE YEAR 1945.
August, 1946.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Hendon.
I have the honour to submit my Sixteenth Annual Report on the health
of the Borough for the year 1945. In accordance with the instructions of
the Ministry of Health, it has been prepared as an interim report.
general health conditions.
The health conditions generally remained good, the vital statistics
concerning the life and well-being of the future generation being worthy of
special mention. Three women died as a result of conditions concerned with
pregnancy and child bearing, giving a maternity mortality rate of 1.3 per
thousand births. The infantile mortality rate fell to the record low level
of 29 per thousand live births, compared with 46 for the country generally
and 54 for the County Boroughs and greet towns, including London. This rate
reflects great credit on the mothers of the Borough, many of whom are living
under very difficult housing conditions, on the Council's activities with
regard to the untiring efforts which were made to maintain and extend the
Maternity and Child Welfare Services during the war years and on the Doctors,
Health Visitors, Midwives and others conccrned. The confidence of the public
in these Services is reflected in the growing volume of attendances at the
Health Centres, which will be seen in that section of the report which deals
with Maternity and Child Welfare.
The number of births registered was 2239 as compared with 2245 in the
previous year, giving a birth rate of 16.25 per thousand of the population
as compared with 16.1 for the country generally. The general death rate of
the population was 10,01, that for the country generally being 11.4 and 13.5
for the county Boroughs and great towns including London. Table I shows the