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7
Public Health Office,
Bow Road, E.3.
22nd May, 1931.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit my Report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough
of Poplar for 1930.
Statistics.—Beyond the fact that the General Death Rate and the
Infantile Mortality Rate are the lowest on record (10.5 and 55 respectively)
there is nothing of special interest in the Vital Statistics.
Housing and Overcrowding.—During the year considerable attention
has been given to housing. House-to-house inspections and surveys have
been carried out, as a result of which proposals for dealing with certain
unhealthy areas have been prepared by the Council. In the meantime,
overcrowding still proves one of the most difficult questions with which
the Department has to deal.
Infectious Disease.—The incidence of infectious disease remained
much the same as last year, except that the number of Smallpox cases
increased in the early months of the year, mounting to 126 in February,
following a decline during the summer months of 1929. The number
declined gradually to the end of the year and in all 628 cases occurred in
the 53 weeks ending January 3rd, 1931. The cases were of a mild type.
The very considerable amount of work which the continuance of the
outbreak entailed is referred to in the section of the Report dealing with
infectious disease.
Chickenpox also was prevalent, 1,281 cases being reported.
Maternity and Child Welfare.—The section of the Report dealing
with Maternity and Child Welfare again shows a general increase in the
work done in the Borough. There is, however, one item which has given
rise to considerable anxiety, namely, the difficulty experienced in obtaining
trained nurses for the Observation Wards. There appears to be a general
shortage of trained nurses who are willing to accept appointments in small
institutions where there is little prospect of promotion.