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With the return to private slaughtering applications have
recently been received to use the two latter premises; both have been
refused as the premises are not suitable and it is not considered to
be reasonably practicable to render them suitable.
The needs of the local butchers appear to be amply met by
the facilities available in London.
VACCINATION AND
IMMUNISATION.
I regret to say that the vaccination rate
in Dagenham is extremely low. In fact
it is the lowest of the eleven areas in
the county. The acceptance rate for children under one is 15.9
per cent of live births. In the Administrative County of London
it is 48.1 per cent. We have fortunately, and I repeat fortunately,
been free from Smallpox in Dagenham for a number of years, but
our proximity to debarkation points coupled with a highly
susceptible population puts us in jeopardy.
A brighter picture is presented when the position of active
immunisation against Diphtheria is examined. In all 1,337 children
were immunised and 1,157 received boosting doses. These figures
when aggregated exceed those for the previous year by 376.
Immunisation was introduced in Dagenham as far back as 1930,
peaceful persuasion (and penetration!) has been sustained ever
since. The steep downward curve of the incidence of Diphtheria
demonstrates very clearly the effectivity of this form of active
prevention. Now that the compulsory element has been removed
(by the National Health Service Act 1946) from vaccination against
Smallpox it is our earnest hope that peaceful persuasion will prevail
(No penetration is required, only a superficial scratch).
To the Members of the Council, with whom I have had the
honour to have been associated for twenty years, I offer my sincere
thanks, for their interest in the work of the Department. Many
changes have taken place and many things have happened since
1934. New functions, e.g., Midwives Acts and Food and Drugs,
have been entrusted to the Corporation, some functions have
been transferred to the County Council and legislation has extended
the duties of Local Authorities in many directions. Dagenham has
always exercised all the (health) powers permitted by law. It will
be recalled that the Day Foster Mother Scheme introduced in
Dagenham in 1937 with the blessing of the then Minister of Health
has since, with some slight modifications been applied to the
country as a whole in the guise of the Nurseries and Child Minders
Regulation Act 1948.
The present Members of the Council and their predecessors
have always been health conscious; this attitude of mind has been
much to the benefit of the health of our community and has been
an important factor in facilitating the work of my department.