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3
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR 1953.
Town Hall,
Anerley Road, S.E.20.
June, 1954.
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,
1953, which has been compiled in accordance with Circular No. 1 /54 of the
Ministry of Health.
Once again the Vital Statistics for Penge compare favourably with those for
other parts of the country. The birth rate still remains above that of the whole
of the country, while the death rate is lower. The percentage of persons over
75 years of age at death continues to show a small increase. It is to be regretted
that for the first time for four years a maternal death has to be recorded.
Once again it is a pleasure to record the valuable work done by various
voluntary bodies in the provision of welfare services to the old people in the form
of clubs, provision of meals, and general help in their difficulties in the home.
Some difficulty is still present in obtaining institutional treatment for those cases
that require it.
There has again been no case of diphtheria notified during the year, thus
making it the sixth consecutive year without a case. The immunisation of
children is each year being proved to be a very valuable protection against the
disease. In spite of this there are in the district too many children who are unprotected
and amongst whom it is quite possible for an outbreak to occur as has
happened in other parts of the country. Today diphtheria is not so well known
to parents and those having the custody of children as it was some twenty years
ago, and there is a tendency among some to regard immunisation as an
unnecessary precaution, a line of thought which might have tragic consequences.
Elsewhere in the report reference is made to the large number of measles
cases and to the final stages of the outbreak of Sonne dysentery, which commenced
in November of the previous year.
Clean food in all its aspects received publicity during the year, both from
the Urban District Council and from other quarters. A few cases of food poisoning
were notified during the year, further details of which appear elsewhere. I
would, however, stress here that clean food can only be obtained by scrupulous
attention to hygiene not only in the manufacture and in the retailing, but also
in the home, both in the preparation and in the storage of the food.
Further progress has been made during the year with new housing
projects, and this factor with the resultant lessening of overcrowding should
continue to produce satisfactory figures as regard the health of Penge.