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To'the Mayor, Aldemen and Councillors
of the
Metropolitan Borough of Lewishan.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Annual Report for 1946 is presented again in the abridged form
required by the Ministry of Health since 1939 and is chiefly a compilation
of statistical information.
As mentioned in the last report, Dr. John W. Miller, the Medical
Officer of Health, after many months of illness resigned early in-1946
and it was with the greatest regret that we heard reports of continued
and increasing ill-health and finally of his death in May 1947. I was
appointed by the Council in October 1946 to succeed Dr. Miller but I
did not commence duties in the borough until January 1947. During the
year under review the health services were therefore the responsibility
of Dr. Ella G.E. MacKenzie. Deputy Medical Officer of Health, and
thanks are due to her and to the staff as a whole for aid towards the
satisfactory results achieved.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population in mid-year
1946 at 207,410 was 36,000 more than the estimate for the previous year
and compares with the pre-war estimate in June 1939 of 231,000. The
birth rate for the year at 21.7 also shows a considerable increase on
the previous year (17.7) and is higher than either England and Wales as
a whole or the London County area as a whole. The death rate dropped
to 10.6, which is a lower figure than either the England and Tales rate
or the County of London rate. The infant mortality rate remained low
at 33 and in fact is one lower than in 1945.
Special mention may be made of the following:-
Rodent control. A large and comprehensive scheme of rodent control was
started in July 1946 and was not finished by the end of the year. In
fact it did not finish until the middle of April 1947 and results of
the completed scheme will therefore be given in the next annual report.
Housing. An increased amount of the sanitary inspectors' time was taken
up on housing 'matters. This borough has many housing problems not least
those following the damage and deterioration which occurred during the
war-years. The sanitary inspectorate was understaffed, both in
comparison with other boroughs and in the amount of work to be done, and
consideration was being given at the end of the year towards increasing
the number of personnel.
Diphtheria immunisation. The special diphtheria immunisation campaign
authorised in 1945 was carried out in the spring of 1946. A feature of
the campaign was that a van, complete with medical and nursing personnel,
toured the district in order to give diphtheria prophylactic injections
"on the spot." During this campaign 1,162 children received two injections
each and this was estimated to be 7,3 percent of the children
under 5 in the borough. Due to the campaign and other factors it was
estimated that the number of children under 5 completely immunised rns some
68 percent of those in the borough as against 45 percent in the previous year.
Mass radiography. Examinations for mass radiography for the early diagnosis
of lung disease were held in the borough from 7 October to 15
November,after some weeks of preliminary propaganda. Details of the
results will be found on page 16 of this report.
I am, Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
Lewisham Town Hall, E. H R. SMITHARD
Catford, S.E.6.
17 September 1947 Medical Officer of Health.
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