[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]

Page 1

Infant death rate. This rate for 1955 was 31.4,. which was an increase over the rate for the previous year of 8.9. The rate for the County of London was 23.3 and for England and Wales was 24.9. The following table shows the rates for the last five years:-

Year	Kensington	London	England & Wales

Page 3

The main disease of the lungs, of which the public are best bare, is pulmonary tuberculosis, and in the following table the death rates from this disease, since the end of the war, are compared with the death rates for lung cancer, both for Kensington and for England and Wales.

Year	England and Wales				Kensington
	Pulmonary Tuberculosis		Cancer of the Lung		Pulmonary Tuberculosis		Cancer of the Lung
	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate	Deaths	Rate

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SUMMARY OF VITAL STATISTICS FOR KENSINGTON

Description		1955	1954		1953	1952	1951	1950	1949	1948

Page 11

CAUSES OF DEATH AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF LIFE IN 1955

Cause of death	All ages	Under 1 year	1 year and under 5	5 years and under 45	45 years and over

Page 12

The following is a summary of the work performed during 1955:-

Nature of specimen or sample	Number examined

Page 12

The record of work done during 1955 is as follows:-

Description	Scabies		Vermin		Impetigo		Other conditions
Description	Persons	Cleans -ings	Persons	Cleans -ings	Persons	Cleans -ings	Persons	Cleans -ings

Page 15

Prevalence of Rats and Mice

	Type of Property
	Local Authority	Dwelling Houses	All other (including Business & Industrial)	Total

Page 16

This sewer-baiting has been going on for some years and the figures of the estimated destruction of rats for the past five years are as follows:-

Year	Estimated number of rats killed
Year	First treatment	Second treatment

Page 16

The rodent staff deal with infestations from pests other than rats and mice, and the following is a summary of all action taken during the year:-

Page 17

Seventeen samples of rag flock and other fillings were taken during the year for analysis and the result in each case was satisfactory.

Description	No. of samples taken

Page 22

A. Deposit Gauge

Month 1955	Days exposed	Rain fall (ins.)	Total deposits for period in tons per square mile			Deposits per day in tons per square mile (average)
			Soluble	Insoluble	Total	Soluble	Insoluble	Total

Page 22

South Kensington

Page 22

Milligrams of sulphur trioxide per day

Month 1955	Days exposed	North Kensington	South Kensington

Page 23

The following table compares the Kensington results with those of a country district, and with those of a large industrial area in the north of England:-

Month 1955	North Kensington		South Kensington		Country District		Industrial District
	A.	B.	A.	B.	A.	B,	A,	B.

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These comparative figures may be summarized as follows:-

		Total weight of deposit for year in tons per sq. mile	Daily average of sulphur over the year in milligrams of sulphur trioxide

Page 23

Readings from the two monthly stations have now extended over two whole years, and it is possible to compare the results of the two years.

Year	No. of days exposed	Total weight of deposited matter in tons per square mile.		Daily average of sulphur in milligrams of sulphur trioxide.
Year	No. of days exposed	North Kensington	South Kensington	North Kensington	South Kensington

Page 24

Concentration of smoke in milligrams per cubic metre

Month 1955	Highest value	Lowest value	Average value

Page 24

Concentration of sulphur in partsper million volumes of air

Month 1955	Highest value	Lowest value	Average value

Page 25

Concentration of smoke-millgrams per cubic metre

Month 1955	Highest value	Lowest value	Average value

Page 29

The following is a summary of work carried out in 1955:-

Page 31

The following statement shows the progress of the service and financial effect since it was taken over by the Kensington Communal Services Committee:-

Period	Number of meals	Gross Cost	Receipts from old people	Subsidy from L.C.C	Grant from R.B.K	Net Cost

Page 32

The following is a summary of the work carried out by the Council's Women Health Officers in connection with the care of old people during the year 1955:-

Page 34

SANITARY INSPECTION The following table shows a summary of the inspections, etc., carried out by the sanitary inspectors during the year:-

Page 34

The following table shows the number of notices issued in respect of nuisances, defects, etc., found during the year:-

Page 35

The following is a summary of works completed under the supervision of the sanitary inspectors during the year:-

Page 35

HOUSING

Page 36

Continued from previous page...

Page 37

The following table gives a summary of the action taken under the 1954 Act during the year:-

Category	Applications for certificates of disrepair		Applications for certificates to be revoked
Category	No. granted	No. refused	No. granted	No. refused

Page 41

Name of Area	Date of Declaration	No. of houses	No. of persons displaced

Page 42

As a result of this survey, 3,293 houses were deemed to be unfit for habitation. Included in these, were the following areas which were thought to be suitable for slum clearance:-

	Premises	Estimated population
	Premises	Families	Persons

Page 43

Total number of permanent dwellings in the borough 38,397

Page 44

The two Councils agreed to allocate work of slum clearance as follows:-

Page 46

Applications for improvement grants received and dealt with during 1955 are summarised as follows:-

Page 46

The post-war new housing schemes completed or being erected in Kensington by the Council are summarised as follows:-

	Dwellings

Page 47

Seventy-eight new cases were dealt with in 1955 by the Special Sub-Committee as follows:-

Page 48

Further plans are being made to erect on the site of Elgin Mews and Lonsdale Mews, (other clearance areas), the following accommodations, with manure stores, conveniences, etc.

	Elgin Mews	Lonsdale Mews

Page 48

Inspections

Premises	Number on Register	Number of of Inspections	Number of Written Notices

Page 49

Defects found

Particulars	No. of defects found	No. of defects remedied	No. of defects referred
			To H. M. Inspectors	By H. M. Inspectors

Page 49

The following table shows the nature of the work carried out by the one hundred and ninety home workers on the register of outworkers during 1955:-

Nature of work	Number

Page 50

Premises, where food is prepared, stored or exposed for sale for human consumption, are frequently inspected. The following is a record of the inspections made by the sanitary inspectors engaged on this work for 1955:-

Premises registered under -	No. of premises	No. of Inspections

Page 52

Details of licences granted during 1955 are as follows:-

	Principal	Supplementary

Page 52

The following table shows the number of samples of processed milk taken during the year, together with results of the examinations:-

Designation	No. of samples	Methylene blue test		Phosphatase test		Turbidity test
Designation	No. of samples	Passed	Failed	Passed	Failed	Passed	Failed

Page 53

dairymen and dairies during 1955, and the numbers of persons and dairies registered at the end of the year are shown in the following table

	Dairymen	Dairies	Purveyors of milk in sealed containers

Page 54

The following table shows percentages of milk fats and non-fat solids of the genuine samples taken during each month:-

Month	No. of samples taken	Average percentages
		Milk fats	Non-fat solids

Page 55

During the year the following amounts of food were surrendered and condemned as unfit for human consumption:-

Food	Tons	Cwts.	Qrs.	Lb.

Page 55

In October, 1955, a water main burst in a roadway in South Kensington. Two foodshops were badly flooded and a large amount of food was rendered unsalable or unfit for human consumption and had to be destroyed. A summary of the damaged food is as follows:-

Food	Cwts.	Qrs.	Lb.

Page 58

The following table shows the number of samples taken during 1955 for chemical analysis compared with the previous year:-

	1954	1955

Page 59

During the year twenty samples of ice cream were taken and submitted to the methylene blue test. The results are as follows:-

Grade	No. of samples

Page 59

Pood poisoning notifications (corrected)

Page 64

The figures for the past five years are as follows:-

Year	Confirmed cases	Deaths

Page 65

The following table shows the number of cases added to and the number removed from, the notification register during the year:-

Description		Respiratory		Non Respiratory		Total
Description		M	F	M	F	Total

Page 68

TABLE 1

Notifiable disease	Number of cases notified
Notifiable disease	1955	1954	1953	1952	1951	1950	1949	19248

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TABLE 2

Notifiable disease	Number of Cases Notified in 1955 Age Groups in Years
	Under 1	1 to 2	3 to 4	5 to 9	10 to 14	15 to 24	25 & over

Page 69

TABLE 3

Notifiable disease	Total Cases Notified in each Ward
	St. Charles	Golborne	Norland	Pembridge	Holland	Earls Court	Queens Gate	Redcliffe	Brompton

London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Kensington 1955

54 tables in this report

Infant death rate. This rate for 1955 was 31.4,. which was an increase over the rate for the previous year of 8.9. The rate for the County of London was 23.3 and for England and Wales was 24.9. The following table shows the rates for the last five years:-

The main disease of the lungs, of which the public are best bare, is pulmonary tuberculosis, and in the following table the death rates from this disease, since the end of the war, are compared with the death rates for lung cancer, both for Kensington and for England and Wales.

SUMMARY OF VITAL STATISTICS FOR KENSINGTON

CAUSES OF DEATH AT DIFFERENT PERIODS OF LIFE IN 1955

The following is a summary of the work performed during 1955:-

The record of work done during 1955 is as follows:-

Prevalence of Rats and Mice

This sewer-baiting has been going on for some years and the figures of the estimated destruction of rats for the past five years are as follows:-

The rodent staff deal with infestations from pests other than rats and mice, and the following is a summary of all action taken during the year:-

Seventeen samples of rag flock and other fillings were taken during the year for analysis and the result in each case was satisfactory.

A. Deposit Gauge

South Kensington

Milligrams of sulphur trioxide per day

The following table compares the Kensington results with those of a country district, and with those of a large industrial area in the north of England:-

These comparative figures may be summarized as follows:-

Readings from the two monthly stations have now extended over two whole years, and it is possible to compare the results of the two years.

Concentration of smoke in milligrams per cubic metre

Concentration of sulphur in partsper million volumes of air

Concentration of smoke-millgrams per cubic metre

The following is a summary of work carried out in 1955:-

The following statement shows the progress of the service and financial effect since it was taken over by the Kensington Communal Services Committee:-

The following is a summary of the work carried out by the Council's Women Health Officers in connection with the care of old people during the year 1955:-

SANITARY INSPECTION The following table shows a summary of the inspections, etc., carried out by the sanitary inspectors during the year:-

The following table shows the number of notices issued in respect of nuisances, defects, etc., found during the year:-

The following is a summary of works completed under the supervision of the sanitary inspectors during the year:-

HOUSING

Continued from previous page...

The following table gives a summary of the action taken under the 1954 Act during the year:-

As a result of this survey, 3,293 houses were deemed to be unfit for habitation. Included in these, were the following areas which were thought to be suitable for slum clearance:-

Total number of permanent dwellings in the borough 38,397

The two Councils agreed to allocate work of slum clearance as follows:-

Applications for improvement grants received and dealt with during 1955 are summarised as follows:-

The post-war new housing schemes completed or being erected in Kensington by the Council are summarised as follows:-

Seventy-eight new cases were dealt with in 1955 by the Special Sub-Committee as follows:-

Further plans are being made to erect on the site of Elgin Mews and Lonsdale Mews, (other clearance areas), the following accommodations, with manure stores, conveniences, etc.

Inspections

Defects found

The following table shows the nature of the work carried out by the one hundred and ninety home workers on the register of outworkers during 1955:-

Premises, where food is prepared, stored or exposed for sale for human consumption, are frequently inspected. The following is a record of the inspections made by the sanitary inspectors engaged on this work for 1955:-

Details of licences granted during 1955 are as follows:-

The following table shows the number of samples of processed milk taken during the year, together with results of the examinations:-

dairymen and dairies during 1955, and the numbers of persons and dairies registered at the end of the year are shown in the following table

The following table shows percentages of milk fats and non-fat solids of the genuine samples taken during each month:-

During the year the following amounts of food were surrendered and condemned as unfit for human consumption:-

In October, 1955, a water main burst in a roadway in South Kensington. Two foodshops were badly flooded and a large amount of food was rendered unsalable or unfit for human consumption and had to be destroyed. A summary of the damaged food is as follows:-

The following table shows the number of samples taken during 1955 for chemical analysis compared with the previous year:-

During the year twenty samples of ice cream were taken and submitted to the methylene blue test. The results are as follows:-

Pood poisoning notifications (corrected)

The figures for the past five years are as follows:-

The following table shows the number of cases added to and the number removed from, the notification register during the year:-

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

TABLE 3