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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Battersea,
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have pleasure in presenting to you my Annual Report on the
Health of the Borough for the year 1959. It contains the usual statistical
information about the work of the Department, and in this introduction
I refer to one or two matters of special interest.
The population of the Borough has been gradually diminishing
and in 1959 the decline continued from 110,400 to 108,500, that is, a
decrease of 1,900.
The total number of live and still births was 2,066, while the live
birth rate based on the number of live births (2,030) was 17.96, compared
with 16.16 in the previous year. There were 1,328 deaths amongs
Battersea residents, which gave a death rate of 11.63 per thousand
the population, compared with 11.07 the previous year. Forty-four
infants under the age of one year died, compared with 45 in 1958, and
this figure gives an infant mortality rate for all infants of 21.67, compared
with 23.96 in the previous year. This rate is the lowest since
1954, when a rate of 18.99 was recorded. The rate does not after
greatly from year to year. It will be remembered that I dealt with this
question of infant mortality at some length in my annual report for 1954
There were two deaths from causes associated with childbirth compared
with one for 1958, giving a maternal mortality rate of 0.97. The figures
for the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality rate in the administrative
County of London are 22.3 and 0.60.
1959 was regarded as a "Measles Year" although in fact
number of cases of measles notified, namely 702, was not greatly
excess of the number for 1958 (614), an increase of 88. This increase
however, explains the over-all increase in the number of notification
received—1,187 compared with 1,152, modified by the decrease in the
number of notifications of dysentery and whooping cough. There were
71 cases of scarlet fever notified, and 13 cases of poliomyelitis, of which
11 had some form of residual paralysis. Immunisation against poliomyelitis
continued, under the arrangements made by the London Country
Council local health division, and during the year approximately 14,600
persons received prophylactic injections.
The number of cases of tuberculosis which were notified during the
year was 75, the same as the previous year, but 25 fewer than 1957 and
65 fewer than in 1954. In addition, we became aware of 63 other cases.
in the main transfers into Battersea from other areas. During the year
there were eight deaths from tuberculosis, compared with 20 in 1958
Of the eight deaths in the current year, 7 were due to pulmonary tuberculosis,
whilst in 1958, 17 were due to this cause. This is a substantial
reduction and even if it were not to be repeated next year, it is still
a remarkably low number of deaths in an area of this size. I referred
in my report last year to the diminishing problem that tuberculosis is
presenting, and clearly this trend continues. Of the other deaths from
diseases of the chest, in 1959 there were 55 (in 1958—69) from cancer
of the lung, and from bronchitis, 118 (in 1958—87). It is obvious that
as judged by the number of deaths, lung cancer and bronchitis are now