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7
To the Chairman and Members of the
Chislehurst and Sidcup Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The word " change " which has a surprisingly large number of
dictionary definitions can for the purposes of this letter be
considered as either a change for the better or a change for the
worse.
My mind is working on these lines for this happens to be the
twenty-fifth annual report since this district came into existence in
1934, and it seems a suitable time to give some thought to the
changes which have taken place in the interim. The most important
feature is that the changes for the better considerably outnumber
those for the worse, and therefore we can look back with a sense of
satisfaction to the last quarter of a century even though that period
includes six years of the most devastating war of all time.
Between 1934 and the present day, the local infant mortality
rate has been reduced from 46 per thousand live births to 20 9 per
thousand live births, the population has just about doubled itself,
and the death and birth rates have remained fairly steady. While
dealing with figures, one of the more outstanding features is found
in the returns of infectious diseases, and the following short table
speaks for itself in a way that no words of mine could possibly do.
Disease. No. of cases. No. entered Hospital. No. of deaths.
Scarlet Fever 1934 — 132 1934 — 109 1934 — 1
1958 — 89 1958 — 25 1958 — Nil
Diphtheria 1934 — 24 1934 — 22 1934 — 3
1958 — Nil 1958 — Nil 1958 — Nil
In addition, in the earlier years there were 23 deaths from
tuberculosis and three from whooping cough by comparison with
10 and nil respectively in 1958. Thus the picture has changed
vastly from that of 1934—a year which is well within the memory
of a large number of those who will read this report. Having
indicated some of the brighter features, it is now time to turn to the
darker side of the picture and in this connection, I should like to
refer particularly to cancer and bronchitis.
In 1934 fifty-six deaths were ascribed to cancer and six to
bronchitis which figures had altered to 156 and 44 respectively in
1958—a really significant alteration even after taking into
consideration the increase in population. On the subject of
cancer it is very desirable to point out that the total figure of deaths
from this cause include no fewer than 41 deaths from lung cancer.
It is impossible to compare this latter figure with 1934 as at that
period lung cancer caused comparatively few deaths, and separate