View report page

Public Health Department,
Deptford Town Hall, S.E.14.
August, 1954.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Deptford.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my privilege to place before you my report on the health and
environmental circumstances of our Borough for 1953. As in previous
years the report is in a condensed form, in accordance with the Ministry
of Health Circular 42/1951, dated 10th December.
The population continues to decline and our birth-rate has fallen from
17-4 to 15-0. Our death-rate has also increased but this is more than
accounted for by the alterations in the allocation of deaths by the
Registrar General as recommended in circular G.R.O. (M.0.H.) No.
4/1952. As a consequence, New Cross General Hospital is now regarded
as a residential institution. This hospital deals with aged and bedridden
patients previously resident in Bermondsey and Southwark; deaths
occurring there are now allocated to Deptford instead of being transferred
to the Borough of their previous place of residence. We had to
accept 139 deaths during the year, which raised our death-rate from
11 Itol3 0. It also meant that our total deaths in the higher age groups
from malignant neoplasm, heart and circulatory diseases and pneumonia
and bronchitis, increased by almost 100. This seems to me to be not
only an unfair load for our Borough to bear, but to vitiate the value of
statistical presentation and analysis.
Fortunately, our infantile mortality rate has fallen to the more realistic
figure of 26-5, which is still slightly above the general rate for the County
and proves the need for continued efforts in child welfare and care.
During the year there were no maternal deaths.
Once again infectious diseases declined, from 1,193 to 827. The
reduction was due mainly to fewer cases of scarlet fever, measles and
whooping-cough. Nevertheless, food poisoning increased by 58 and we
has 102 cases of dysentery, mostly of the Sonne type. In all these cases
rigorous preventive measures were adopted and there was close liaison
between the general practitioners and this department as regards treat-
ment, contact tracing and bacteriological investigations. There was an
increase of 13 in notifications of Pulmonary Tuberculosis, but a slight
reduction in deaths: this is not an isolated trend, it is general throughout
the country. Although fewer people are dying from pulmonary tuberculosis,
due to the great advance in treatment and clinic care, the reduction
of incidence of the disease is not so significant. Is this due to the fact
that by Mass Miniature Radiography and the excellent arrangements for
follow-up of cases and contacts at Chest Clinics more pulmonary tuberculosis
is being found; or that we are looking for it more diligently; or
are the preventive services in some way lagging behind curative medicine?