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THE HEALTH REPORT QF COUILSDON & PURLEY FOR 1941.
INTERIM REPORT.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In accordance with the instructions of the Ministry of
Health I beg to present to you an interim report on the state of
the Public Health in this District during 1941, this being my
tenth Annual Report as your Medical Officer of Health.
As in,the previous two years the full report has been
prepared, including all records and statistics, steps being taken
to ensure their preservation, with a view to the publication of a
complete report after the War covering the period of its duration.
This year not only has the necessity for economy in paper been
emphasised but also the need for avoiding the publication of
statistics which might not be desirable in the public interest.
As a, result not only has the section on population been omitted,
but statistics from which this could be acuced have been avoide,
e.g. the Birth Rate, Death Rate, etc., arc given but not the actual
number of Births, Deaths, etc.
Reviewing conditions during 1941, as residents we have
much for which to be thankful. The continuous raiding
experienced during 1940 gave place to heavier but less frequent
attacks until May, 1941 after which raiding ceased, resulting in
a diminution in the conditions likely to prejudice the health of
the public and the return to a more normal ay of life. In
common with the rest of the London region the reduced risk of air
attack contributed to the return of a proportion of those previous
evacuated thus influencing not only the size of the population but
its age ana sex distribution.
It might have been expected that this movement of
population and especially. the congregation of persons in the
Services with their periodical contacts with civil life would have
fostered the development and sure of infectious disease. Such
did not however, materialise to any great extent and, as will be
seen in the report, with the exception of a few diseases, the
year's record was one of the best experienced. The only widely
spread infectious diseases were Measles and, to a lesser extent,
Whooping Cough, but for an epidemic year the numbers of cases of
these diseases were not surprising. A large number of cases of
Dysentery was notified but these were, all associated with the
two large mental hospitals in the District. From the local
figures alone one would be reluctant to deduce an increase in
Tuberculosis but against the background of the national tendency
some deterioration must probably be accented as having occurred.
There was a slight recovery in the local Birth Rate
during 1941. On the other hand the Death Rate slightly increased,
probably reflecting the tendency to a rather older population than
before the War. This is also probably at least part of the
reason for an increase in the Cancer Death rate.
It is pleasing to note an improvement in the Maternal
Mortality-Rate, but unfortunately the Infant Mortality Rate was
higher than would be wished. To some extent at least this
increase can be attributed to the influence of the war.
The year 1941 will stand out for those interested in
Public Health matters as the year in which the national campaign
against Diphtheria w. s. launched. Intense activity was evident
locally the results of which can be summarised as follows:-
At the beginning of the year only 1 in 14 of the
children from 1 to 5 years of age and 1 in 10 of these from 5 to
15 years had been immunised, but by the end of the year 1 in 5
of the younger children and more than 1 out of every 2 older
children had been treated. These figures have since been
improved upon, but while there are grounds for congratulation it
is to be regretted that the number of parents of young children
who avail themselves of this offer of free preventive treatment
is so small. Attention is at the present time again being
focussed on the great need for early immunisation against this
disease.