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COULSDON AND PURLEY URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL.
Ladies and Gentleman,
I have pleasure in presenting my Annual Report for 1952, this
being my twentyfirst report as your Medical Officer of Health.
It will be noted that, in general and as judged by the vital
statistics, the health of the District remained good.
The Birth Rate again dropped to the low level reached in
1950 and was almost as low as the average for 1930-34. On the
other hand the percentage of illegitimate births was nearly the
lowest, and the Stillbirth Rate was in fact the lowest known locally.
Similarly the general Death Rate was slightly better than in
1951 and the Corrected Death Rate was well below that for the
Country as a whole.
While the death rate from all types of cancer showed a welcome
decrease after a series of annual increases, there was again
an increase in the proportion of women dying from cancer of the
breast and of men who succumbed to cancer of the lungs. As
death from at least the former condition should be preventable,
if only reported and treated early enough, the opportunity must
be taken of again stressing the importance of obtaining medical
opinion on any persistent lump in the female breast at an early
date. The relief of a negative finding can be almost as beneficial
as the prompt treatment of a case.
One of the most pleasing items to report this year is that no
maternal death occurred for the second year in succession. In
fact there have been no deaths connected with childbirth in three
of the last four years.
While the Infant Mortality Rate was again fairly low, it was
not so good as in the two preceding years, and with the national
rate breaking its previous record annually the gap between these
two rates is becoming steadily less marked. This year at least
five of the deaths in babies might well have been prevented, four
being due to infections and one to an accident.
In view of the present interest in the prevention of accidents
in the home, it should be noted that of 15 deaths resulting from
accidents during 1952, only 3 were due to road accidents, while
the commonest cause was falls in the elderly or in very young
children.
The incidence of almost all forms of infectious disease remained
at a low level, the most marked decrease in notifications
being in measles, followed by pneumonia, tuberculosis and scarlet
fever. Only dysentery showed a substantial increase and that in
the Mental Hospitals.
Nationally, poliomyelitis was again rather more prevalent but
only 8 cases occurred locally, of which unfortunately 3 proved
fatal, 2 being adults. Only one of the remainder, however, had
any appreciable permanent paralysis.
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