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4
evidence in favour of abiding by the accepted rules of health is
overwhelming.
Fatal accidents annually form a distressing part of my report,
and it is disturbing this year to record an increase of three fatal
home accidents, four fatal road accidents, and also an increase of
six cases of suicide. The details are recorded elsewhere in this
report, but I would like to refer to a few aspects of the problem, as
these figures do not show the full picture of incapacity, disability
and suffeiing associated with these events. As usual, the majority
of fatal accidents in the home were due to falls in elderly people,
resulting in broken bones and subsequent lung complications leading
to death. These accidents continue to occur in spite of the ever
increasing and concentrated publicity on dangers in the home and
the gathering knowledge regarding safer house and appliance
design.
The prevention of road accidents may not be within the province
of the Health Department, but once again, I wonder if the
real cause of most of those accidents is not linked with haste, impatience,
selfishness and downright bad manners by all categories of
road users—all factors well within the bounds of prevention.
The problem of suicide is undoubtedly a difficult and serious
one requiring much intensive research, and one in which, up to the
present, we appear to have had little success.
The Smoke Control programme continues to proceed according
to plan and by the end of the year 1197 acres and 5364 dwellings,
etc., had been included in Smoke Control Orders.
Certain industrial installations gave cause for complaint, and
observations, with subsequent action, were necessary.
During the period 3rd - 7th December, a dense fog covered the
London area including Enfield, and, as is recorded elsewhere in this
report, the smoke and sulphur dioxide content of the atmosphere
showed considerable increases. This foggy weather was followed
on the 26th December, by a lengthy period of snowy weather. As
was to be expected, these conditions were coincident with noticeable
effects on health conditions, most evident in an increase in the
number of deaths from bronchitis and pneumonia as well as heart
conditions.
Once again, the unauthorised parking of caravans created
considerable concern during the year. Much time and effort were
unfortunately required to be expended in dealing with this recurring
problem under existing legislation, action being taken to remove no
less than three hundred and twenty-five caravans from unauthorised
sites.