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METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF CHELSEA
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
King's Road,
CHELSEA, S.W.3.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Chelsea.
Your Worship, My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is with pleasure that I submit my annual report for the year 1954.
The inclusion of graphs and tables continues, thus clearly indicating
the trends in various aspects of Public Health.
The population of the Borough has been estimated by the RegistrarGeneral
to be 52,060, as compared with 52,150 and 52,140 in 1953 and 1952
respectively. A decrease of 90 is apparent since 1953, but the
variations in population returns show that the present figures exceed by
over a thousand the estimate for 1947, the first year of normal conditions
following World War II. Military personnel stationed in the Borough
continue to be looked upon as residents, but there is no current Information
available as to their numbers. The last estimate made in this particular
connection was in 1951, when the total was 150.
Births. The number of Live Births allocated to Chelsea was 787, and
the Birth Rate was 15.1. By a remarkable coincidence the foregoing
figures have been constant for the past three years. 401 Males and 386
Females were born in 19541 the relevant figures for 1953 were 423 and 386.
Whilst "Chelsea" births remained unchanged, those for England and Wales
(682,007) decreased by 8,795 to 673s212.
Deaths. 734 residents died either within or without the Borough. In
the latter case they were duly transferred to this authority by the RegistrarGeneral.
The number of deaths increased by 40 as compared with 1953 (694)
and the Death Rate rose by 0.8 per 1,000 of the population. However, it is
most significant to record that almost three-quarters (547) of registered
Chelsea deaths were of persons aged 65 years and over, a proportion never
before attained. To provide for adjustments of sex and age components of
any one area as compared with England and Wales as a whole, it has been found
necessary to establish "Area Comparability Pastors," by which means a
practical statistical basis can be found for both Birth and Death Rates. The
results of these calculations can be seen on Page 6.
Maternal Mortality. Two deaths were attributed to accidents or diseases
associated with pregnancy or childbirth. In 1953 there were three deaths
from such causes, but prior to that no deaths under this heading had occurred
after 1946. The annual average number of deaths during the past fifteen years
has been 1.066.
Infectious Diseases. Five hundred and forty-nine notifications were
received during the year, as compared with 1,232 in 1953. The great reduction
is entirely due to Measles, Whooping Cough, and Sonne Dysentery which fell
by 445, 164 and 59 respectively, as compared with 1953. A case of Diphtheria
was last notified to the Department in 1949.