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Telephone: OLD TOWN HALL,
FULham 1212. FULHAM, S.W.6.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
of the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present the Annual Report for 1964.
Vital Statistics
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population at mid-1964 was at 107,530,
only very slightly less than his estimate for the previous year. For the first time
since 1955 the birth rate also showed a slight decrease although the adjusted rate
of 19.2 per 1,000 live births was still higher than the corresponding rate for the
country as a whole. The percentage of the total births in Hammersmith which
were illigitimate continued to increase to 17.1 per cent in 1964. The total number
of deaths fell during 1964 and the adjusted death rate of 12.0 per 1,000 of the
population was in line with the figure for England and Wales which was 12.2 per
1,000 population. Ninety-one of the total deaths were due to cancer of the lung
and forty-eight of these deaths occurred in persons of under sixty-five years of
age. By contrast there were only five deaths from all forms of tuberculosis during
the year, four of which occurred in persons over sixty-five years of age. Only one
death was attributable to infectious disease.
Sixty-three of the total deaths involved the deaths of infants under one year of
age, and the resultant infant mortality rate of 26 per 1,000 live births was rather
higher than the corresponding rates experienced during the previous four years,
and higher than the rate for England and Wales which during 1964 was 21 per 1,000
live births. Fluctuation of the infant mortality rate must be expected when a
relatively small number of deaths are involved. Forty-four of these deaths occurred
during the first four weeks, forty-one during the first week. It is gratifying that for
the second year running, during which period there was a total of 4,859 births, no
deaths were attributed to childbirth.
Infectious Disease
Once more there were no confirmed cases of diphtheria reported in
Hammersmith during the year. This has been the position for the last five years
and is an index of the efficacy of immunisation against the condition. It in no way
detracts from the necessity to ensure that all children continue to receive their full
complement of prophylactic treatment.
Poliomyelitis paralytic was reported in a man in the twenty-five/forty-five age
group. Fortunately the residual paralysis was not extensive and a good recovery
was made. This particular patient had not been immunised against the disease.
Some dysentery had to be dealt with during the year and the energetic measures
taken to deal with the situation in a school is set out in the body of the report. In
recent years this condition has proved to be highly infectious and only the highest
standards of hygiene both environmental and personal, are effective in its control.