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3
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, 1948
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council
of Enfield.
I have pleasure in presenting my Annual Report for the year
1948.
Last year in my Annual Report, I referred to the fact that on
5th July, 1948, the National Health Service Act, 1946, would come
into operation, and that the more personal health services formerly
controlled by the Enfield Council would become the responsibility
of the County Council, and I gave a detailed survey of the health
services of Enfield since the beginning of the century, showing that
Enfield could look back with satisfaction on its achievements in
the sphere of personal health services, and hand over to the new
Health Authority a sound, extensive and progressive service on
which to base future developments. The appointed day duly
arrived, and apart from the transfer of the personal health services
to the major local authorities, many of the provisions of the
National Health Service Act have had marked effects on local
authorities' services, but the time and place do not seem opportune
for discussion, as many points have yet to be clarified.
Since the appointed day the County Council administration for
the area has been taking shape. In view of this change in administration,
I regret that my report for this year will be mainly
statistical, and it must be noted that although the statistical figures
for the personal health services in this report cover the whole year,
the Enfield Council responsibilities were only for the first half.
The main points regarding the vital statistics are the considerably
decreased birth rate, decreased death rate, and an Infant
Mortality rate of 27.67, which is the lowest ever recorded in Enfield.
The incidence of Infectious Diseases was low, Measles and
Scarlet Fever showing the greatest decline. There were only three
cases of diphtheria, two of whom were brother and sister ill at the
same time, and again this year, there were no deaths from
Diphtheria.