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TO HIS WORSHIP THE MAYOR, THE ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS OF THE
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF PADDINGTON.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you my Annual Report for the year 1927 as required by the
Statutes and Orders applicable to my office.
During the year the health of the Borough continued to be good, the death-rate being
only slightly above the average for recent years.
The infantile mortality was at the rate of 79 deaths of infants under the age of 12 months
for every 1,000 births. This compares very favourably with the rates of 150 or 160 which
were prevalent 30 years ago. The infantile mortality for the County of London in 1927 was,
however, only 59, and it is therefore evident that a further decline in the Paddington mortality
must be hoped for.
It is difficult to point to any one cause of our somewhat high infantile mortality. Probably
the most important factor is that Paddington is far too built over and overcrowded to be an
ideal place for rearing children. Many families who are comfortably off from the financial
point of view are compelled to live in apartments or tenements and may be without the use
of a yard or garden where infants may obtain the sunlight and fresh air which are necessary
for healthy development. In some of the boroughs of London the standard of living is below
that of Paddington but the children thrive better owing to the larger amount of garden and
yard space available.
The foregoing paragraph affords a clue to the "housing problem" in Paddington. This
is really a social problem due to the overcrowding and sharing by several families of dwellinghouses
which were only built for one family.
There are no congested areas in the Borough and the number of houses which require
closing and demolition is small. There are so-called "slum areas" in Paddington but these
areas were not originally slums and would not be recognised as such if the inhabitants were
removed from the houses, which are generally of sound structure.
During the year strenuous but unavailing efforts have been made by the Council's officers
to find any area in the Borough suitable for housing development. It appears that no progress
in this respect is possible without extensive demolitions of properties, and economic and
financial conditions do not at present make it desirable to demolish any houses which are
tolerably fit for dwelling purposes.
During the year both I and my staff have received much support and consideration from
the Council, which has facilitated our efforts. I should like to take this opportunity of
thanking the staff of the Public Health Department for the loyal help I have received from
them, and other members of the Council's staff for many courtesies received.
I have the honour to be,
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
G.E. Oates.
M.D., M.R.C.P., D.P.H.,
Medical Officer of Health.
Town Hall,
Paddington Green, W. 2
June, 1928.