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8
The Medical Officer of Health attended a conference at the St. Pancras Town Hall
on the subject, called by the Mayor of that Borough, and a similar meeting took
place on the same day at Holborn. Since the Act of 1919 came into operation,
and as result of the publicity given to the rat problem, a vast improvement has
taken place and in all probability not only has the rat and mouse population of the
Borough reached a point lower than any hitherto attained, but sanitary conditions
in the premises dealt with have been bettered also.
Every year the Medical Officer of Health is invited bv religious and other
bodies to give lectures of a popular type on various aspects of health, and during
the year under review a number of such addresses were given, including one to a
large audience at the Presbyterian Church, Upper George Street.
Under this heading may be mentioned also the several congresses and conferences
held during the year, principal among which were those relating to Infant
Welfare, and that of the Royal Sanitary Institute, to which the Medical Officer of
Health or a member of the staff was appointed delegate.
Much publicity is obtained by means of the series of leaflets and posters issued
by the Public Health Department. These give advice on many matters of health,
and include the precautions to be taken in regard to infectious diseases (measles,
whooping cough, Epidemic (summer) diarrhoea, consumption, scarlet fever,
diphtheria, enteric fever, venereal diseases, influenza, ophthalmia neonatorum).
Others contain advice to expectant and nursing mothers; facts as to the dangers
from flies; the need of rat destruction, and the methods of bringing this about.
Posters and leaflets, inviting tenants of tenements to co-operate in the efforts to
keep road- and footways clean, dealing with the nuisance caused by the fouling of
footways by dogs and others, are also widely distributed.
Finally, as an expression of the appreciation due to the Press for the great
assistance rendered, it is gratifying to note that more and more space is given in
the daily newspapers to matters of health interest, the local Press, particularly, being
helpful, invariably showing a willingness to co-operate in all health propaganda
schemes in the Borough by giving prominence to any matter of special interest to
the inhabitants.
THE YEAR 1922.
POPULATION.
The population of the Borough when the Census was taken on June 19th, 1921,
was found to be 104,173, made up of 63,166 females and 41,007 males, the former
thus exceeding the latter by 22,159. The tables, on pp. 9 to 16, which have been
abstracted from the Report on the Census and are introduced into this report in
accordance with previous practice, contain an analysis of the information obtained at
the Census that should be found useful.
The previous Census taken in 1911 enumerated the population at 118,211, so
that during the period of ten years there was a decrease of 14,038.
The population estimated to the middle of 1922 by the Registrar-General is
shewn below, and is that used in calculating the various rates, etc., given in this report.
For information the estimated population of each of the wards is also set out, and for
comparison the figures for 1921.
Year. The Borough. All Souls. St. Mary. Christ Church. St. John.
1921 104,173 24,956 26,680 32,428 20,109
1922 105,200 25,202 26,943 32,747 20,308