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3
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR 1951.
Town Hall,
Anerley Road, S.E.20.
June, 1952.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council of Penge.
Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,
I beg to present an Annual Report for the year ended 31st December,
1951, which has been compiled in accordance with Circular No. 42/51 of the
Ministry of Health.
The Vital Statistics for the year continue to compare favourably with other
parts of the country.
Again it is noticeable that a high proportion of the deaths occurring in
the district were those of persons of 65 years of age and over. This large number
of elderly people continues to present many problems in providing for their care
and welfare, and it is gratifying to record the large amount of help given to them
by various voluntary organisations, especially in the provision of meals in their
own homes. There is, however, a number of elderly people living alone in one
or two rooms who, while not in a strict sense hospital cases, are unfit for the
ordinary old people's homes and it is cases such as these which present the
biggest problem in providing for their care. The difficulty arises from the fact
that there is no provision for this type of case and that the responsibility for the
care of the aged is divided between the County Council and the Hospital Board.
The result is that these border line cases are refused admission to the institutions
of either of these authorities and remain at home in gradually deteriorating
conditions until they are so bad that they either reach hospital or die in their own
homes under circumstances which are to be deplored.
The value of diphtheria immunisation has been proved by the fact that for
the fourth year in succession no case of diphtheria was notified in Penge. In order
to maintain this record, however, it is absolutely necessary for parents to ensure
that their children are immunised before reaching the age of one year and for the
children to receive reinforcing inoculations prior to entry into school life and
subsequently during that period. Although the number of cases of diphtheria
throughout the country has shown a marked decline since the start of the
immunisation campaign in 1941, it is still possible for an outbreak to occur in
any district. Any relaxation of immunisation precautions is therefore likely to
be followed by an increase in the number of cases of diphtheria.
The figures of Tuberculosis do not provide such a satisfactory picture
since once again there is a rise in the number of new cases notified during the
year. This increase may be partly accounted for by earlier diagnosis as a result of
mass radiography and medical examinations prior to entry to the services, but it
seems certain that other factors must play their part in causing this increase.
Of these overcrowding and unsuitable living quarters due to the housing shortage