London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Orpington 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
This page requires JavaScript
6
To the Chairman and Members of the
Orpington Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In accordance with instructions contained in Ministry of Health
Circular 1/1954, I have to submit an Annual Report on the Health of
the Urban District during the year 1953. This will be my sixth Annual
Report to you and my last. Much that could be written has already
been reported in my previous reports, but 1953 should remain memorable
in that the policy adopted by the Health Committee in 1949 with
reference to the abolition of the large number of cesspools in the area,
has now culminated in the promotion of a Private Bill whereby, if and
when it becomes an Act, compulsory connection to main drainage will
be enforceable where applicable: and also memorable because of the
adoption by the Council of large schemes of main drainage extensions
to be carried out over a period of the next six years. The way ahead
should now be clear.
The rapid increase in the population during the past ten years,
viz., 17,500 persons, has brought not only its problems, but has
enlarged the responsibilities of the Local Authority. The reestablishment
of truly Local government, the abolition of government
by forms and a return to the more personal and simple approach to
Health problems is more than ever needed to-day. The water from
the taps is not improved by elaborate and expensive fittings.
These figures are also of some importance in indicating the direction which Health Services should take in the future.
| Orpington. | Bromley. | Chislehurst and Sidcup. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population under 5 years of age | 6% | 8.2% | 9.9% |
| Population 65 years and over | 10.4% | 12.6% | 8.1% |
| Population living more than 2 persons per loom | .86% | .93% | 1.65% |
| Households sharing dwellings | 971 | 3,472 | 1,701 |
| Households with no fixed bath | 2,243 | 3,560 | 2,202 |
| Households with no piped water .. | 291 | 26 | 161 |
| Households with no water closet .. | 441 | 36 | 153 |
The above figures apply to the Census for the year 1951, but I
think we can safely say that our figures also apply to the year 1953.
In this year of 1953, births exceeded deaths by 293 persons, and, while
the Death Rate for the year corresponded with the average Death
Rate for the past ten years, viz., 9.8, the Birth Rate is falling. The
fall in the Infantile Mortality Rate during the last three decades is
remarkable and is common throughout the country, but there still
remains an unaffected hard core of neonatal deaths and of stillbirths.
Deaths from cardio-vascular diseases are increasing, one hundred and