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THE HEALTH REPORT OF COULSDON AND PURLEY
FOR 1942.
Cou 10
INTERIM REPORT.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In accordance with the instructions the Ministry of
Health I beg to present to you an interim report on the state of the
Public Health in this District during 1942, this being my 11th
Annual Report as your Medical Officer of Health.
As in the previous three years the full report, has been
prepared, including ail records and statistics, and steps have been
[taken to ensure their preservation with a view to the publication of
a complete report after the War covering the period of its duration.
Again 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 deduced have been avoided, e.g.
the Birth Rate, Death Rate, etc., are given, but not the Actual
number of Births, Deaths, etc.
Reviewing conditions during 1942, we, as residents, have
very much for which to be thankful. No heavy raiding occurred,
such as had been experienced in the two previous years, thus further
diminishing, the environmental factors likely to prejudice the health
of the public,and facilitating the return to as normal a way of life
as could be expected under conditions of modern warfare. As in the
rest of London, the return of further sections of the population,
previously evacuated, took place, influencing both the size and
constitution of the population. Thus no degree of stability
comparable with even pre-war standards for this District was
realised, while the calls of the services and industry accentuated
these variations altering the mode of life and habits of residents.
One of the most outstanding facts, with regard to the
public health of the District during 1942 was the extraordinary
increase in the birth rate as judged by the average local rate over
a period of some years, although not by earlier national standards
or those of other countries. A sudden increase of 32% on the average
for the previous 5 years suggests social changes in the District, all
of which are not due to differences in the type of population. The
fact that this is the first time the local birth rate has been higher
than the corresponding national rate is worthy of note.
The increased birth rate has necessitated modifications in
the Maternity and Child Welfare Service, which are reported upon in
the section of this report dealing with that branch of public health
work. To date, in view of the uncertainty of future developments in
the economic, social and political spheres, such improvisations have
been introduced as have appeared expedient, but if, as seems possible,
the sudden increase in the local birth rate is indicative of more
permanent changes, consideration will have to be given to more far
reaching alterations in the service.
While the maternal mortality rate remained low during 1942,
the infant mortality rate has tended, on the average, to increase
during the last two decades and approximate to the falling national
infant mortality rate. That the national rate should reach a new
low level record, especially during war time, is most commendable,
but it is hoped that a District such as this, with social and
economic advantages over many parts of the Country, will continue to
set the pace, rather than be content with average results. The help
of all who have the care of babies will be needed to achieve this aim.
Owing to the absence of the fittest of the young adult
sections of the' community, the crude death rate is of less importance
than formerly since it is not truly comparable from year to year, and.
might well be expected to increase with an ageing population.
Locally this rate tended to fall during 1942, being rather less than
in the two preceding years, although still higher than it was in the
years before the War,
A further result of the movements of population referred to
above might well be an increase in infectious disease. It was
anticipated, for example, before the War that mass evacuation would