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To The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Paddington
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you the Annual Report of the
Medical Officer of Health of Paddington for 1964. The Report of
the Medical Officer of Health of Paddington has been presented
annually since the formation of the Borough in 1900. However,
consequent upon the amalgamation of Paddington, St. Marylebone
and Westminster to form the new City of Westminster, this will, of
course, be the final report of the series emanating from the Metropolitan
Borough of Paddington.
(1) Vital Statistics
Although the last Census showed that Paddington is still the
most densely populated Metropolitan Borough, it is interesting to
note that the population has fallen from 143,976 in 1901 to 117,050
in 1964.
During the last war the population fell as low as 77,640 in 1941,
but by 1950 had risen to 130,600.
Subsequently, there was a continuing decline in population to
113,350 in 1960, but by 1964 the population of Paddington had
risen to 117,050. In large measure the 1964 figure is explained by
the fact that the rehousing programme is now overtaking the extensive
slum clearance operations of recent years.
The Death Rate per 1,000 population is 9.3, which is the lowest
recorded in the history of Paddington and may be compared with
the figure of 15.00 in 1901. Unhappily in reverse, in 1964 there were
no less than 65 deaths recorded as due to malignant neoplasm of
the lung, whilst in 1901 only 3 deaths were recorded from this
disease.
The Illegitimate Birth Rate remains high, viz, 23 per cent (cf.
24 per cent in 1963). As would be expected the mortality figure
of illegitimate deaths of infants compares unfavourably with legitimate
deaths, thus:—
Deaths of Infants under 4 weeks—Legitimate 18, Illegitimate 9;
Deaths of Infants under 1 year—Legitimate 23, Illegitimate 12.
There has been an outstanding reduction in the number of
deaths from Tuberculosis since the first report of the Medical Officer
of Health. Thus in 1901 there were no less than 223 deaths from
Tuberculosis, whereas in 1964 only 9 deaths were occasioned by
this disease.
(2) Infectious Disease
The incidence of infectious disease in the Borough throughout
the year has again been minimal.
It is pleasing to note that there has been no case of Diphtheria
in the Borough of Paddington since 1961. In 1901 there were no less
than 338 cases of Diphtheria in the Borough, occasioning 46 deaths.