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4
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Battersea.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit for your information my Annual
Report on the health and sanitary state of the Borough of Battersea
for the year 1926.
The Annual Report for 1925, in accordance with the requirements
of the Ministry of Health, was a "Survey" Report, i.e.,
the report should every fifth year be of a retrospective character
and should include a survey of progress during the previous five
years. The Report for 1926 is, therefore, of a more restricted
character and is concerned mainly with matters dealt with in that
year.
The vital and morbid statistics for the year have on the whole
been satisfactory and compare favourably with those of previous
years.
The birth-rate (i.e., 17.3 per 1,000) is the lowest recorded in
the old Parish and Borough of Battersea. The steady decline
which is taking place in the birth-rate in Battersea as elsewhere
in England and Wales is becoming a serious menace to the future
of the Nation.
The general death-rate and infantile mortality rate for the
Borough although slightly higher than in 1925 compare favourably
with those of recent years. The Tuberculosis death-rate is the
lowest yet recorded in Battersea.
The outstanding feature of the year's work has been the
development of Ante-Natal work in connection with the Midwifery
Services (Hospital and District) included in the Council's Maternity
and Child Welfare Scheme. The great increase in the number of
patients admitted to the Maternity Hospital and to the District
Service has rendered it necessary to provide increased facilities for
the examination and medical supervision of the expectant mothers.
A full account of this work will be found in the chapter dealing
with Maternity and Child Welfare.