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TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE BOROUGH OF FINCHLEY
September, 1949
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report for the year
1948.
As a result of the National Health Service Act, 1946, certain
services previously administered by the Borough Council were
transferred to the County Council on the 5th July, but as there
must still be a good deal of local interest in these services as well
as in the School Health Service, I have considered it advisable to
include certain information regarding them for the whole year.
The vital statistics are satisfactory and the position regarding
infectious diseases is good. There has been an increase in the
number of cases of measles and whooping cough, but this is largely
accounted for by the fact that there are many more children of a
susceptible age in the Borough.
Once again there has been no case of Diphtheria. The death
rate from Tuberculosis is lower than it has ever been, but I have
considered it necessary to utter a warning about the risk to the
community arising from the lack of sanatorium beds.
Housing conditions still give cause for anxiety. It is difficult
to say whether overcrowding has been reduced or increased as we
have no accurate knowledge of the extent of the problem. A fairly
complete picture could only be obtained by a survey of the
accommodation occupied by the applicants on the Council's
housing list.
The difficulty in getting work done to remedy sanitary defects
has been aggravated by the raising of the limit of building repairs
to houses from £10 to £100 per annum because builders can now
keep their staff fully occupied with a better type of work.
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