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i
BOROUGH OF SOUTHWARK
Public Health Department,
Walworth Road, S.E.17.
The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
Metropolitan Borough of Southwark.
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit the Annual Report of the Health Department
for the year 1953.
The Registrar General's estimate of the people in midyear
1953 at 96,870 was 1,100 persons less than his estimate
for mid-year 1952. This is the first time a decrease has occurred
in the population since the war.
The Infant Mortality rate has again risen, due largely to
the great increase of illegitimate deaths.
The general death rate, however, was lower than in the
previous year.
Infectious diseases provided no difficult problems. Eight
cases of Poliomyelitis were notified, but one of these proved
not to be a case; of the seven true cases six were of the paralytic
type. The mode of spread of this disease is still problematical,
but one hopes that ere long this will be discovered. Already
there are signs that methods of prevention are not far distant,
but it will be some little time yet before wholesale immunisation,
as with diphtheria, will be a possibility. Altogether the
health of the Borough was satisfactory.
Atmospheric pollution is a matter of concern not only to
the Health Department but also to the Council. The members
of the Health Committee take a lively interest in this important
matter, and the responsible officers are "on their
toes" and keenly active.
The tempo in the Housing activities of the department is
rapidly increasing, as is well displayed by the work undertaken
during the year and itemised under the Housing Section of this
report.
I believe that the three essentials for sound national
health are good clean food to eat and drink, clean air to breathe,
and a separate and distinct house or dwelling with modern