View report page

BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK.
Public Health Department
Town Hall,
Walworth Road, S.E.
To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
Dear Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In presenting my Report for the year 1926, there is no outstanding
feature to which I have to draw attention. The general health of the
Borough has been good, and there has been a considerable fall in the
death rate, and also in the deaths of children under one year of age.
The death rate is the lowest in the history of the Borough, and the
infantile mortality rate, with the exception of the year 1923, is also the
lowest.
The birth rate is steadily declining, but this fact does not affect the
population to any extent, if more of those born live and grow up healthy
and strong. Fewer babies and stronger ones is better than many births
with a heavy infantile mortality rate, and in this respect our Welfare
Centres have amply justified their existence, and the money spent
on them.
There has been considerable zymotic disease, but of a mild type, and
the result in mortality has not been heavy. The more recently notifiable
and less known diseases of Encephalitis Lethargica (Sleepy Sickness)
and Cerebro.spinal Fever have each caused three deaths.
There were no cases of Typhus Fever nor Small Pox during the year,
though many cases of possible Small Pox were seen at the request of the
medical attendant, which in every instance were found to be cases of
Chicken Pox or other disease.
The question of clean food has received considerable attention, both
out of doors on butchers shops and stalls, and also indoors in the kitchens
and store rooms of eating houses. There has been a remarkable
improvement in the stalls and shop fronts. Many glass windows have
been put in, and the meat protected in a way that was not done a couple