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6
Public Health Department,
Town Hall, Greenwich, S.E.10
July, 1956
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a traditional and pleasing duty to preface the Annual
Report with some introductory observations.
The year has seen no serious major epidemics and there has
been solid progress in certain important aspects of community
health, although we have had more deaths and fewer births.
The Registrar General's estimate of the population at mid-year
was 89,490, a decline of 1,110. Mention is made of this fact in the
body of the Report.
The Infantile Mortality Rate was 16.01, a reduction of 6.16 on
last year and the second lowest in the history of the Borough.
Analysing these figures year by year, it is obvious that Greenwich
is a healthy place in which to be born, and these consistently low
figures reflect great credit on the many agencies concerned both with
maternal and child care.
Neo-Natal deaths, however, still account for 66.6% of the
total; 9 deaths out of 14 were caused by premature birth, and 3
from birth injury due to difficult labour or instrumental delivery.
For the third successive year there was no maternal death.
The adjusted death rate increased from 9.4 to 9.94. The cancer
death rate increased from 1.83 to 1.89, and in particular, there was
an increase in stomach cancer, but a decrease in cancer of the lung
and bronchus for the first time for several years. This unexpectedly
reversed a trend to which attention has been drawn for some time ;
but no conclusions can be valid on the statistics of one particular
year.
Turning to infectious diseases, the year was noteworthy for the
large number of measles notified: there were 1,684 cases, with 2
deaths. Tuberculosis cases declined slightly from 106 to 99, but
the total number on our register, which is now kept for departmental