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Borough of Bermondsey.
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of
Bermondsey.
Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the year
1939. For reasons of economy the report consists virtually only of
statistics. The outbreak of war, as members very well know, has
led to tremendous changes in the work of the Department. Without
a single exception, every member volunteered to do any kind of
war work connected with the Department which might be assigned
to them. Although the normal work has been in many directions
much reduced, it has been, and is, the deliberate policy of the Council
to maintain all the normal services as far as possible. Some of the
clinics have been suspended entirely, notably the Children's Clinic and
the Post-Infectious Diseases Clinic, others have been much reduced in
size, and in some cases Infant Welfare Clinics have been amalgamated.
In general, it is true to say that for those who remain in the borough
the ordinary peace time services have been maintained. Additional
war work placed upon the Department has been enormous, particularly, of course, in the direction of the maintenance and operation of
the First Aid and Stretcher Party Posts, and in connection with
evacuation schemes and food control. Many duties have been imposed
for which the Medical Officer of Health and the staff could not be
supposed to have had any previous training, and which were quite
outside the scope of their ordinary work. I take this opportunity of
recording my gratitude to the members of the staff, and my admiration
for the many unsuspected talents which have been displayed. There