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8
was as high as 20 as recently as in 1953, it is obvious that some
real progress has been made here.
Infectious diseases were not a prominent feature of the year,
but reference must be made to the outbreak of Smallpox which
affected the country in the early months of 1962. No cases
occurred in this area, but one was confirmed in an adjoining local
authority's district, and a great deal of work fell upon this department.
Perhaps some idea of the magnitude of the increase involved
can be judged by quoting the increase in the number of doctors'
signatures authenticated on Vaccination Certificates—the figures
rising from 482 to 3,699 in one year. Not only were we free from
Smallpox but no cases of diphtheria, anterior poliomyelitis or
typhoid fever occurred, but this should not be used as an excuse
to avoid routine protection against the three first named diseases. It
would also seem prudent to be protected against typhoid fever
prior to foreign travel. Also worthy of comment is the extremely
small number of cases of whooping cough notified; these number
5 only and compare very favourably with the figure for the previous
year which was 48.
The estimated population has risen by over a thousand, and
the birth rate has also risen. There were no maternal deaths and
the infant mortality rate has fallen slightly but significantly, and
was below the figure for England and Wales as a whole. These
figures all show a trend in the right direction and must therefore
be considered satisfactory.
It was during the year under review that the final decision of
the Government on the alignment of local authorities to make up
the new London Boroughs 18 and 19 was made. As a result of
this, Chislehurst and Sidcup will be split, part of the area to be
merged with Borough 18, and the other half with Borough 19.
This, of course, raises many problems which will not be the lot
of Local Authorities which are not to be split, but it does mean
that in effect the present geographical area of this local authority
will eventually be covered by two Health Committees, both of
which will be entirely responsible for all the present local health
authority services with the exception of ambulances, which will
be the responsibility of the Greater London Council. The effect
of this change in the administration is bound to make for added
local interest, and this at least will, I believe, be welcome, but
there must be many who would have preferred smaller units of
administration with the maintenance of the present local authority.
Once again, I have to thank many people for their help so
generously given me during the year. They include hospital staffs,
General Practitioners, and all those who work in the Public Health