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8
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough
of Dagenham.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The report on the health of the district for the year 1944 follows
closely on the lines of those for the preceding war years, the main
difference being that certain figures, such as the estimated population,
are now included.
It will be noted that the population as estimated by the Registrar
General is 91,770, there are good reasons to believe that since that
estimate was made there has been a very substantial increase, largely
due to returns from evacuation.
The vital statistics are very encouraging, the birth rate of 22.26
is the highest since the year 1931, the death rate remains low, but
the infant mortality rate of 39.16 per 1,000 live births is worthy of
special mention; this establishes a new low record and is all the more
significant when one recalls that it is about half that experienced less
than a generation ago. It can fairly be stated that the infant mortality
rate inversely represents the health of a community.
maternal
mortality.
Later in the report reference will be found
to the low rate of maternal mortality, the actual
number of maternal deaths was two, the figure
for the previous year was four. The rate per thousand total births is
almost exactly half that for England and Wales. From some quarters
criticism has been directed against the Council for not providing a
maternity home in the Borough, surely the consistently low death rate
is sufficient to vindicate the Council's policy of making satisfactory
arrangements with Oldchurch County Hospital and the East End
Maternity Hospital for institutional confinements.
The following quotation from the recent Hospital Survey for the
Ministry of Health is pertinent to the argument "We share the views
advanced by the Department's Committee on Maternal Mortality and
Morbidity and elsewhere that maternity accommodation should whenever
practicable be provided in a unit associated with a general hospital,
and that small units are unable to maintain the skilled medical and
nursing staff required, the optimum size of unit being in the neighbourhood
of 70 beds (including ante-natal beds)."
gas/air
analgesia.
The use of this service is being extended to
meet the increasing demand which is no doubt
prompted by good reports of its efficacy.
Formerly the Central Midwives Board required that the "second
person," i.e., additional to the midwife, should possess certain specified
qualifications, this restriction somewhat hampered the scheme as these
people were not always available after the Civil Defence Service was