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5
PREFACE.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit the Annual Report on the health of the
Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea for 1926.
The report is an "Ordinary" report as defined in the appropriate
circular of the Ministry of Health. The Ministry's programme stipulates
that for each series of five years from 1925 onwards there shall be published
one Survey and four Ordinary reports. Ordinary reports are expected
to deal with the sanitary circumstances, the sanitary administration,
and the vital statistics relating to the District for the year under review.
Any further action of importance in the organization or development of
public health services contemplated by the Local Authority or considered
desirable by the Medical Officer of Health must also be dealt with.
The chief vital statistics relating to the year are as follows : The civil
population is estimated by the Registrar-General at 64,820, a figure
which is identical with that for last year. The birth rate (13.3) is
lower than that for last year (14.4). The marriage rate (9.1) is higher
than that for last year (8.9). The death rate (12.5) is higher than
that for London generally (11.6) but compares with 13.6 last year.
It is, perhaps, not generally realised that nearly 9 per cent. of the Chelsea
population is made up of persons over 65 years of age—a much higher
proportion than that obtaining in any other Metropolitan borough. The
infant mortality rate was 64, as compared with 68 last year. These
figures indicate that the general improvement in the public health of the
Borough continues to be maintained.
The incidence of notifiable infectious diseases was somewhat higher
last year owing to outbreaks of diphtheria, scarlet fever and pneumonia
in the early months of the year. The numbers of cases of erysipelas and
ophthalmia remain, approximately, the same. A considerable increase
is recorded in the number of cases of measles.
At the end of the year there were 307 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis
and 67 cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis known to be living in the
Borough. These figures represent a slight increase as compared with
those for 1925.