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CITY OF HESINISTER
interim report
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
for the year 1943
Mr. Mayor, My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit a report on the health and sanitary
conditions of the City of Westminster for the year 1943. This
report is tarmed an interim report within the tars of the
directional circular No.10/44 of the Ministry of Health and the
information contained is therefore limited in scope as was the
case in the preceding reports for the war years.
The absence of any serious air raids ha. naturally
reawakened interest in the development of public health activities
and particularly housing. I had the honour to submit several
reports during the year dealing with such matters are further
clearance areas and the more pressing problem of providing improved
amenities in houses occupied by more than one family in order to
secure where possible and practicable a measure of self contained
accommodation. It is gratifying to note that the Ministry of
Health is inclined to encourage this policy of adaptation where the
houses lend themselves to such internal re-arrangement. By this
means a number of the houses let in tenements might be worthy of
adaptation and thus provide a higher standard of housing than
hitherto existed in them.
It will be remembered that the winter and spring of 1943
was abnormally mild; summer like to temperatures were found in January
and February. This may have had a bearing on the increased
incidence of infectious disease of most types. Fortunately serious
or fatal cases were extraordinarily few except as regards
pneumonia where there were 19 deaths compared with 15 last year.
The onset of a wove of influenza towards the end of the year
contributed to this. The birth rate increased but so did the
number of still births. Maternal mortality increased from 2.9 to
3.8 per 1000 births. Of the five cases, three were due to septic
abortion occurring in districts outside London. These three
should not be regarded as deaths due to confinement.
Cancer again exacted an increased- toll of victims chiefly in the
higher ages.
At the request of the Ministry of Health,on a representation
from the Ministry of Labour, the Council took steps to provide
two additional war time nurseries in other districts of the City.
One of these was ready for occupation by the end of the ear in
part of the praises belonging to the Westminster Trolling College
in Horseferry Road. The other in Bloomfield Terrace was in
process of adaptation but the work les been much impeded owing to
the more urgent calls on the building trades. The accommodation
for the children of women on work of National i portanee will be
between 170 - l80 nursery places. The Council made a substantial
grant to the enterprise of the Westminster Health Society in setting
up a day nursery for five half days per week. There is no
doubt that after the war part time nurseries will fulfil a very
definite need.