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I believe that some, at least, possibly only a few, of the mothers
who do not accept the kind invitation to attend the centres for their
babies' benefit, are of the feckless, it may be careless, order, who,
unintentionally of course, let their babies slip through their fingers and
so help to swell the infantile mortality rate.
The local authorities in England have done and are doing great
things for the burgesses, but the maximum of success will only be
attained when every individual citizen responds and meets the local
authorities half way. Every man and woman must develop a high
hygienic sense and put it into practice.
A chart will be found in the Report showing the fall in the death
rate from tuberculosis, both pulmonary and ' other tuberculosis." It is
most gratifying to record that 95 died of pulmonary tuberculosis as
compared with 133 in the previous year, and that 17 as compared with
31 died from non-pulmonary forms of tuberculosis. A very full report
on tuberculosis will be found in the text.
Those valuable institutions, the Miller General Hospital and the
Greenwich and Deptford Hospital have been linked up with our
Tuberculosis Dispensary, and we may look forward with confidence to
a continuation of the good work.
I have little to add to my remarks on Housing made last year. No
citizen can reproach the Council, as every available bit of ground was
built upon years ago. The question now before us is to think of the
housing of those people who will be temporarily displaced in what I
feel sure will be an early thrustful move forward in the clearance of an
area or areas. This question is ever present in the mind of your
Council. Meanwhile, a steady house-to-house inspection is made by
your Sanitary Inspectors to ascertain the existence of defects. No
doubt, as the machine moves forward and the value of the Inspectors'
good work becomes increasingly manifest, it will be your wish that the
present tentative standard of 16 houses per Inspector every fortnight
will be revised in an upward direction ; meanwhile it is my hope to
return to my first love, Housing, myself, and to carry out an inspection
of the least satisfactory property in the Borough.
The success of the Maternity Home is an established fact, the
number of admissions having increased from 129 in 1922 to 200 in
1923. Full particulars will be found in the Report.
In connection with the public food supply, there is still further
need for protecting the general public.