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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of
Dagenham.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit herewith my report for the year 1946,
which has been drawn-up in accordance with the requirements of
Articles 6(3) and 17(5) of the Sanitary Officers (Outside London)
Regulations, 1935, as modified by Circular 13/47 of the Ministry of
Health dated 13th March, 1947. This circular again states that the
report should be an interim one.
The estimated population for mid-1946 is given as 106,530. The
Registrar-General, however, in his latest quarterly return estimates
the civilian population at 110,300. To these should be added the
unascertainable number of those serving in the Forces. The upward
trend of the population since the cessation of hostilities is thus being
maintained. It will be recalled that before the war each official
estimate of population year by year was in excess of that previously
shown.
One other gratifying fact is the low record infant mortality rate
which is 31.09 per thousand live births. This figure compares with
43 for England and Wales as a whole and 46 for the 126 County Boroughs
and Great Towns including London. In 1928 the corresponding
figure for Dagenham was 73.1 and with minor fluctuations it has tended
to decrease. The previous low record of 39.16 occurred in 1944. The
infant mortality rate is usually accepted as the index of the health of the
population as a whole.
The other vital statistics shown in the body of the report are
satisfactory including the maternal mortality rate which is .82 per
thousand total births. It is not so many years ago that a maternal
mortality rate of four per thousand was regarded with complacency.
BIRTH RATE.
The total births numbered 2,380 compared
with 1,847 for the previous year. The birth
rate per thousand of the resident population is 22.34 compared with
19.54 for 1945. This further substantial rise has strained to the
utmost the facilities offered by this department. Medical Officers,
Health Visitors, Midwives and Clerical Staff have all been working at
high pressure to cope with the rapid increase. The Committee has
already given consideration to supplementing the health services in
order to cope with the demand. It is scarcely necessary to point out
that beyond a certain point it is not possible to deal satisfactorily with
large numbers at Ante-Natal and Infant Welfare Clinics.
Adverting to Midwives, it is recommended by the Rushcliffe
Committee that the number of cases to be attended by a domiciliary
midwife without a pupil should not exceed 66 per year. Reference to
the table on "Domiciliary Midwifery Services" later in the report
will show that our ten Municipal Midwives undertook 818 cases,
including miscarriages. This number at the rate of 66 per year