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TO THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COULSDON
AND PURLEY URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have pleasure in presenting my Annual Report for 1956,
this being my twenty-fifth report as your Medical Officer of Health.
These Annual Reports have to be prepared mainly for the
information of, and on the instructions of the Minister of Health,
but they also provide information for the Council and the residents
of the District. In the past they have tended to present an accumulation
of facts, largely in tabular form, which have not made
attractive reading for those unused to such fare. In spite of steady
endeavour to write them more interestingly, considerable repetition
has been inevitable in the small amount of space available between
the tables.
The opinion is growing that more use should be made of
this opportunity to interest residents in health questions and widen
their knowledge of the preventive measures which can be taken
to improve the health of the District, and on this occasion the
the experiment has been made of reducing the number of tables,
devoting more space to positive advice and, as far as possible,
simplifying the wording. It is hoped that, as a result, more
residents, and particularly teenagers who are interested in 'Civics'
will read this report and not find it too heavy going.
If it is thought that even now sections could have been
omitted to advantage, it must be remembered that these reports
are valuable as works of reference in the years ahead, hence many
facts have to be included which may not be very interesting to the
lay reader. Most of the tables have been relegated to the Appendix
while those of the least general interest have been omitted from
the printed report but are available in duplicated form, on request.
Experience alone will show to what extent it is practicable to meet
the demands of a wide variety of potential readers in a single
report.
It is usual in these introductions to give a very brief assessment
of the health of the District based on the vital statistics for
the year under review, for the benefit of the vast majority who do
not find time to read any further. Judged solely by this standard
the health of the District was well maintained in 1956. The birth
rate increased, the death rate remained stable while that for
ordinary residents decreased. Most commendable and outstanding
are the facts that again there was no maternal death, while the
death rate among infants under one year was the lowest ever experienced.
On the whole the infectious diseases were not very
common, very few cases occurring of those which are liable to be
most serious. Immunisation against poliomyelitis was instituted in
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