London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The number of repair notices (3,309) served under the
Public Health (London) Act, 1936, by the Council's sanitary
inspectors in 1949 exceeded the number served in the previous
year by 223. Their enforcement necessitated the service of
291 summonses compared with 240 in 1948. It would appear
that, in certain parts of the borough, it is becoming
increasingly difficult to induce some owners to undertake
repairs to their property owing to the high cost of such
repairs and the shortage of labour and materials.
The following table shows the numbers of sanitary notices and summonses served in each ward of the borough in 1949:-
| Ward | No. of sanitary notices served in 1949. | No. of summonses taken out under Public Health (London) Act in 1949. |
|---|---|---|
| Golborne | 864. | 74 |
| St. Charles | 794 | 118 |
| Norland | 422 | 21 |
| Pembridge | 429 | 44 |
| Holland | 170 | 3 |
| Earls Court | 186 | 3 |
| Queens Gate | 72 | 2 |
| Redcliff e | 275 | 24 |
| Brompton | 97 | 2 |
| 3309 | 291 |
BIRTH RATS. The number of Kensington live births in
1949 was 2,681 compared with 2,908 in the previous year. The
birth rate per thousand population was 15.4 and it is noted
that this rate has been gradually declining since 1946, when
it was 18.2.
GENERAL DEATH RATE. The total number of deaths recorded in 1949 was 1,819 compared with 1,685 deaths in 1948. Owing to the increase in the population referred to above, the general death rate for last year, 10.4, shows only a slight increase over the lowest ever recorded figure of 10 for 1948. The increase in the total number of deaths was reflected mainly under the following headings:-
| 1948 | 1949 | Increase | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heart disease | 432 | 506 | 74 |
| Influenza, bronchitis, pneumonia and other respiratory diseases | 183 | 222 | 39 |
| Suicide and other violent causes | 77 | 113 | 36 |
INFANT DEATH RATS. The number of deaths of children
under twelve months for every thousand live births reached
the borough's lowest record of 24 in 1949 There has been
a continued fall in the infant death rate since 1942, when
the figure was 65 deaths per thousand live births.
MATERNAL MORTALITY RATS. For the first year on record,
there was no death as a result of pregnancy or childbirth
during 1949.