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6
The general death rate being subject to various influencing
factors is not perhaps in itself a strict criterion of communal health,
so that for comparative purposes certain individual death rates are
more important, especially those of Tuberculosis and the Infantile
and Zymotic death rates, which were 1.2, 85.1 and 0.95 respectively
for the district, compared with 0.7, 52.2 and 0.6. for the
Administrative County of Essex, and as regards the Tuberculosis
and Infantile Mortality rates of the Country as a whole,
1.05 and 75.
The year under review has been one of considerable progress.
Increased attendances at the Maternity and Child Welfare
and Ante-natal Centres necessitated the provision of extra sessions
and the appointment of an additional health visitor, developments
which at the time of writing are complete.
The housing of the working classes continues to present the
most engrossing problem, the comparatively large number of houses
added by the Council to the district still leaving much of that
problem unsolved. Overcrowding was conspicuous in all of the
poorer parts of the district, occurring in not a few instances in
dwellings practically beyond repair, and did circumstances allow,
fit only to be closed.
Despite much overcrowding the incidence of infectious
disease was low, notifiable infections, exclusive of tuberculosis,
numbering 179, and equalling an attack rate of 4.7 per : ,000
population.
Marked progress has been the feature of the School Medical
Service throughout the year, signalised in but to mention outstanding
features, the appointments of full-time dental surgeon
and nurse, the complete equipment of the dental clinic, the
equipment of premises for the efficient treatment of crippled
children by massage, radiant heat and electricity, while a qualified
masseuse and orthopa:dic surgeon, Mr. B. Whitchurch Howell,
F.R.C.S., have been appointed. An efficient cleansing and
disinfesting station became available for use early in the year.