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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Batter sea.
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 1927.
The Vital and Morbid Statistics for the year have been on the
whole satisfactory and indicate that the Borough continues to
maintain its position as one of the healthiest in the County of
London.
The birth-rate (i.e., 16.6 per 1,000) is the lowest recorded in
Battersea except during the War year, 1918. This steady decrease
in the birth-rate is the most unsatisfactory feature of the Vital and
Morbid Statistics of the Borough. The decline in the birth-rate is
common to the whole country, the corresponding rates for the
County of London and for England and Wales being 16.1 and
16.7 respectively.
The general death-rate is slightly higher than that for 1926
and is about equal to that for the County of London. On the other
hand it is gratifying to record that there has been a considerable
decline in the Infant mortality-rate (53 per 1,000 births as compared
with the previous year, 62 per 1,000 births) which, except that for
1923, is the lowest Infant death-rate recorded in the Borough.
The Zymotic death-rate decreased from 0.69 in 1926 to 0.33
in 1927.
The Maternity and Child welfare activities of the Council are
reflected in the decline in Infant mortality and Maternal mortality
during the year. The development of the Ante-natal side of the
work during the past four or five years has no doubt contributed
to this satisfactory result, and, as will be noted in the Section of
the Report dealing with Ante-natal progress, the increase in the
number of attendances at the Central Ante-natal clinic at the
Borough Maternity Hospital will render it necessary for the Council
to consider the question of increasing the existing accommodation
by the erection of an out-patient block adjoining the main hospital
buildings.