View report page

PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
43, White Horse Road,
STEPNEY, E.1.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and.Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney,
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my report for the year
1946. The report is again abridged in accordance with the
directions of the Ministry of Health.
Tho Registrar-General's estimate of the population of
the Borough for the mid-year 1946 was 94,800. The population
figures frcn the last pre-war year are as follows:1938-
200,500; 1939- 197,200; 1940- 136,030; 1941 - 75,010;
1942- 71,980; 1943- 72,920; 1944- 73,030; 1945 - 77,610.
The birth rate increased from 18,5 in 1945 to 22.6 in
1946, and there was a very great increase in births, viz.
1495 to 2198.
The death rate was lower than last year, 14.7 compared
with 18.9.
There were four maternal deaths, giving a maternal mortality
of 1.8; and tho infantile mortality rate was 51.2 compared
with 56.17 last year.
There was one death this year from diphtheria and one
from measles; none from scarlet fever or whooping cough.
Diphtheria immunisation increased from 967 to 1516 and 667
children were immunised against whooping cough.
The number of infectious diseases notified varied very
little from last year, viz. 1222 in 1945, 1194 in 1946.
There were 80 deaths from pneumonia, compared with 62
in 1945.
Whooping cough decreased frcn 96 cases to 87. Diphtheria
cases numbered 45 - one more than last year. Measles cases
notified were 733 (725 in 1945).
There were no cases of smallpox, two cases of typhoid
with one death.
212 cases of tuberculosis were notified, 11 less than
last year. Of these cases 187 were pulmonary and 25 nonpulmonary.
There were 81 deaths, 19 less than last year.
There is much difficulty in getting beds for the tuberculous
sick. As this is due almost entirely to the present
shortage of nursing staff, it is not easy to remedy.
There was a further decline in Scabies in 1946, formal
notifications being 758 compared with 807 last year.
-1-