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has loomed so large in the public eye in recent years. Sufficient
experience of this form of treatment has now been acquired to
indicate that it is safe and gives a high degree of immunity against
the paralytic form of the disease, and it is therefore to be hoped that
all who are at present eligible for this treatment will take advantage
of it as soon as possible. It is also hoped that it will not be long
before all who wish to be vaccinated against this disease, irrespective
of age, will be able to have this done.
During the year the Council have had under active consideration
their policy with regard to the question of accidents in the
home, and although at the time of writing no decisions have been
made, it would seem an appropriate stage at which to refer to this
big problem. There is a very well-known expression, " an Englishman's
home is his castle," the obvious interpretation of which is
that his home is a haven of refuge in which the family grows up in
privacy, security and safety. But unfortunately the security and
safety are often jeopardised in too many cases by the lack of the
most elementary precautions against home accidents. The toll of
such accidents now exceeds those occurring on the roads, though the
latter receive much more publicity on the whole. It is a terrible
thing to suffer the remorse of those who, for instance, have caused
injury to a child through failure to provide a suitable fireguard, but
one cannot help wondering how often such thoughtlessness is perpetuated
until the tragedy suddenly and quite unexpectedly occurs.
Elderly persons are also peculiarly susceptible to home accidents
as their mobility gets reduced and their eyesight less effective.
Fire and falls are their special risks and in connection with the
latter, bad lighting, loose mats and polished floors all make their
contribution to the total of accidents in the home.
I have mentioned only a very few of the hazards likely to
occur in any home, but having drawn the reader's attention to such
dangers one hopes that these and other risks will be eliminated as
much as possible before it is too late.
The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater
London invited this local authority to make a statement during 1958,
and in view of the importance to the Health Committee of this
summary of views, it would not be right to let this matter pass
without comment. It will probably be some considerable time
before the views of the Royal Commission become known, but I
feel that should their recommendations lead to an increase in the
responsibilities of the Health Committee, the latter would welcome
them enthusiastically.
The time has now come to comment on the vital statistics which
generally speaking are very satisfactory. There has been a further
rise in population, the birth rate remains above that for England