View report page

Borough of Bermondsey
ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of
Bermondsey.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Having taken over duties as your Acting Medical Officer of
Health on Dr. Moss's appointment in April as Deputy Medical
Officer of Health to the City of Leicester, it is my pleasure and
privilege to present you with the Annual Report on the health and
sanitary circumstances of the Borough for 1959.
For easy reference, and comparative purposes, the report
follows the pattern of those for previous years. Each section gives
in some detail the vital statistics of the Borough and outlines the
work carried out by your Health Department. I will, therefore,
content myself by drawing your attention to some of the important
features of the report and also to some of the difficulties which have
caused us some concern during the year.
Generally speaking, the health of the Borough was very
satisfactory, and we experienced an exceptionally fine Summer
from which everyone benefited.
The death rate remained steady at around 11 per 1,000
persons. It is of interest to note that, of the 619 deaths recorded,
408 occurred in persons over 65 years of age. The principal causes
of these 408 deaths were:—
(1) Heart disease and diseases of the blood vessels 188
(2) Pneumonia and Bronchitis 87
(3) Malignant disease 65
(3)