View report page

ANNUAL REPORT
OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Bexley.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The year 1946 witnessed the beginning of the transition
from war to peace. The strain of bombardment of the civilian
population was lifted and the re-integration of family life,
greatly disturbed by the war, was assisted by the return of
evacuated children and by an acceleration in the rate of
demobilisation of the Armed Forces. On the other hand, this
was, of itself, productive of many difficulties. In particular,
the housing shortage resulting from bombing, and the suspension
of new building during the war was considerably
aggravated and remains at the present time the most serious
of the many social problems which beset us. Difficulties in
the process of re-settlement in civilian life inevitably occurred
as a result of the enforced separation, over a number of years,
of husband and wife and children and parents. The shortage
of food and other commodities remained so that in many ways
the stern discipline of the war-time years was continued.
It is remarkable, therefore, in view of these factors, to be
able to report that the general health of the community, as
evidenced by the vital statistics of the area, remained good.
The infantile mortality rate, that sensitive index of social
conditions, was 29.5 per 1,000 live births, the lowest recorded
in the Borough, with the exception of that for the year 1943
when the rate was 26.01.
The birth rate of 19.75 per 1,000 of the population continued
to reflect the higher rates experienced during the war
and it is too early yet to say whether this represents the
beginning of a real reversal of the fall in the birth rate, which
began as long ago as 1870, or whether it can be explained
entirely by the boom in war-time marriages. The answer to
this question is anxiously sought by those who see in the decline
of the birth rate a threat to the survival of our national
institutions.
6