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4
TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS OF
THE BOROUGH OF LEYTON.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I submit herewith my Annual Report on the health, sanitary
circumstances and vital statistics of the Borough of Leyton during
the year 1939, together with my Annual Report to the Education
Authority on the work of the school medical service during the
year. These reports are drawn up on the lines required by the
Ministry of Health and the Board of 'Education.
Ministry of Health Circular 1961 of February, 1940, suggests
that during the war period Annual Reports of Medical Officers of
Health should be materially shortened, that many items which
usually appear may be omitted entirely, and that those which should
be retained may be dealt with as briefly as possible.
In their official Form 6M of December, 1939, the Board of
Education recognise that in view of the abnormal conditions
arising out of the war, the evacuation and the disturbance and
depletion of the regular medical, dental, nursing and clerical staffs,
it will not be possible for School Medical Officers to present reports
for 1939 on the usual comprehensive scale. Moreover, the urgent
need for economy, and especially in the use of paper, makes it
desirable to curtail Annual Reports as far as possible.
There is an additional, and somewhat less academic reason for
curtailing the scope of this Annual Report—the fact that there is
a limit to the amount of work which can be undertaken by the
Staff of your Health Department. During the year under review
there has been imposed on your Medical Officer of Health the
responsibility of organising and putting into operation the Air
Raid Precautions Casualty Service in the Borough—a task which
has been formidable and at times overwhelming. However, with
the loyal co-operation of all members of the Staff of the Health
Department, who have gladly shouldered extra and onerous duties
as their contribution to the national effort, it has been possible
to organise, equip and staff the Casualty Service on the lines laid
down in a bewildering amount of official circulars, memoranda,
handbooks, etc. No reference is made in the body of this Report
to the work of the A.R.P. Casualty Service, as the Ministry of
Health do not include it among the subjects for inclusion in Annual
Reports by Medical Officers of Health.
The annual official figures supplied by the Registrar General
form the basis on which all calculations of local vital statistics