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REPORT
of the Medical Officer of Health
for the Year 1939.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.
Sir, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present a short Annual Report on the Health and
Health Services of the Borough for the year 1939 with a summary
of the Report of the Public Analysts. These are drawn up in
accordance with the instructions of the Minister of Health, contained
in Circular 2067, dated 19th July, 1940, to the effect that,
for the year 1939, Annual Reports should be interim ones only
and should be confined to essential and urgent matters, including
any changes in administration which have become necessary as
a result of the war. The complete statistics for the year have
been compiled so that the continuity of the annual records relating
to the health of the Borough and the Health Services will be preserved.
They are available for reference and publication when
required.
The health of the Borough during the year has been good.
There has been a fall in the incidence of the common infectious
diseases, probably due to the evacuation of a large number of
children and the closure of the elementary schools on the outbreak
of war.
At the end of August a large Civil Defence personnel over
1,000 strong had to be quickly absorbed into the Department
and organised into units, and to enable this to be carried out
successfully many members of the staff of the Department were
called upon to give their assistance in coping with the new problems