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2
To the Mayor, Alderman and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Pinsbury.
MR MAYOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I have the honour to present my Annual Report on the state
of the Public Health in Pinsbury for 1959, and as has been my
good fortune in recent years again state that the health of the
Community has remained good and that the health conditions of the
Borough have continued to improve.
When considering the vital statistics of a small population
such as that of Pinsbury, it must be constantly borne in mind
that chance fluctuations occurring from year to year make
comparisons difficult and conclusions drawn from them may be of
little significance. Nevertheless their study is of interest and
if proper allowances are made they may serve to indicate progress
towards the ideal of health or ways in which it is being undermined.
The birth rate was 16.4 after standardisation which was
almost identical with that of the country as a whole.
Although the standardised death rate of 11.2 was higher than
in the previous year, it was still below the figure of 11.6 for
England and Wales as a whole.
It is pleasing to relate that the high stillbirth and
Tuberculosis death rates for 1958, to which I referred in my last
Annual Report, did not persist, the former falling to the average
rate for the country and the latter well below it.
I am particularly happy to report that the Infant Mortality
rate of 15.9 formed a low record for the Borough and was probably
one of the lowest in the country. The national rate was 22.0.
Unfortunately there was however, one death among illegitimate
infants but again in this year there were no maternal deaths.
The rising deaths, not only in Pinsbury but throughout the
country from all forms of cancer, especially lung cancer and
coronary diseases, continue to be matters of serious concern.
Again I feel that I ought to draw attention to the high
number of cases of suicide which have occurred here as elsewhere,
although there are only 7 as against 9 in the previous year.
Also to draw attention to the high toll of life by car and other
accidents, with 7 deaths from motor vehicles and 15 from other
kinds of accidents (including one under 1 year of age) as against
4 and 2 respectively in 1958.