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TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM
I have the honour to present a report on the Health Services in Lewisham for the
year 1967.
This is the third in the series and, in addition to meeting the requirements of the
Ministry of Health, contains material on the School Health Services submitted to
the Inner London Education Authority.
In recent years, many formal and informal consultations, with relevant agencies,
have taken place on the provision of comprehensive health centres. During 1967, it
could be said that the end of the beginning had been reached when a report on a long
term flexible plan had been accepted by the Council and the site of the first centre
decided upon.
The most important of various legislative measures affecting Health Services in
1967 is the Family Planning Act, which lays duties upon the Council. This will be
implemented by the department, according to the directions of the Health Committee.
The incidence of general sickness in the working population of the Borough, as
shown by returns from the Ministry of Social Security, is lower than in 1966.
Although several contacts and suspects needed investigation, it is pleasing to
record that no cases of Diphtheria, Poliomyelitis or Smallpox occurred during the
year. It would be very wrong to be complacent about this and efforts continue,
especially by our health visitors, against the tendency to apathy in a community
which has fortunately escaped the impact of these killer diseases in recent years.
Several cases of Typhoid, due to infection from outside, were notified and investigated.
A death from Tetanus, the first for many years, was a tragic reminder of the need
to emphasise the facts of prevention in this as in many other such diseases.
One case of Anthrax was notified, single cases also occurring in 1965 and 1962.
A vaccine is now available to those whose occupations place them "at risk". No such
workplace exists in Lewisham
Notes on the work of the two Chest Clinics, submitted by the consultants, are
included in this report, as is also a graph showing the dramatic decline in the incidence
of Tuberculosis in recent years.
The general death rate shows a slight fall compared to 1966. Of interest is the
finding that there is a significant decrease in the number of deaths under the age of
65 in relation to the total.
The Infant Mortality Rate, which is generally regarded as an index of the standard
of social medicine in an area, shows a very favourable trend.
Over 3,000 deaths occurred due to disease of the heart and circulation in the age
group 45-65. Many authorities feel that there is scope for preventive action and there
is no doubt that methods of population screening and periodical medical checks
would show dividends here.
Deaths from lung cancer in men and women once again showed increases on the
previous year's figures. The majority of these deaths are premat ure as the occurrences
are largely preventable.
Although the Council's Health, Welfare, Housing and Amenity Services for the
Elderly have expanded, there are still deficiencies, especially in supervised accommodation
and long-stay geriatric beds, it is encouraging to be able to record that at
the end of 1967, a decision to appoint a Consultant Physician and to enlarge the
provision of geriatric beds was being implemented by the South East Metropolitan
Regional Hospital Board.
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