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5
Public Health Department,
Council Offices,
Billet Lane,
HORNCHURCH.
14th June, 1955.
To the Chairman and Members of the
Hornehurch Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present to you the Annual Report on the health of the
district during 1954.
Vital Statistics.
The figures are satisfactory in that the birth rate remains much as
last year; the death rate is lower at 12.1 as against 13.1; and the
infant mortality rate shows a substantial reduction at 17.38 as against
30.17.
Infectious Diseases.
The number of Poliomyelitis cases at 4 showed a distinct reduction
as against 9 in 1953 and happily 3 of the 4 were in fact of the nonparalytic
type.
Scarlet Fever retained much the same incidence and type.
Measles—it being a non-epidemic year—showed a relatively
insignificant total of 81 as against 1,236; and Whooping Cough also
showed a reduction from 495 to 108.
All these are clearly very satisfactory features.
Housing.
Our review of sub-standard properties within the district was made
comprehensively during the year and is noted in detail elsewhere in this
report. Hornehurch has in reality no "slum" problem of any real
magnitude and is in this respect in a very favoured position as compared
to older and industrialised towns even of a much smaller size.
The local house building development is still proceeding apace.
Tuberculosis.
I have dealt in some detail later with this disease and its local
picture and suffice here to say that the diminution both in new cases
and of deaths, together with certain other features, reveals a position
which gives real cause for modified optimism.
Atmospheric Pollution.
We have now completed a full year's working with certain additional
recording instruments and we have readily available a most useful
picture to assist not only in letting us know what is happening locally
but also in utilising the local findings to more general advantage.