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TO THE
MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS
OF THE
BOROUGH OF SOUTHGATE
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of
Health for the year 1953. The general structure of the report
remains as before, although minor alterations have been made, in
accordance with the instructions received from the Ministry of
Health.
The year 1953 was placid from a health point of view. Apart
from the number of measles cases reported, to which reference will
be made later in the report, the district was free from any major
outbreak of infectious diseases. More important still, the type of
infectious disease which occurred was mild, admissions to hospital
being relatively few. Although the absence of any spectacular
features from a health report such as this may be unfortunate from
the point of view of the author, the fact that the road has been
relatively clear of obstacles is highly satisfactory. It has frequently
been stated that preventive medicine is seldom spectacular: its
victories are unobtrusive, and too often pass unnoticed. For this
reason, public health is apt to be taken for granted. This attitude,
cither of complacency or of laissez faire, is dangerous, since preven'ive
medicine must always be regarded as the real foundation on
which our system of living, at least so far as positive health is concerned,
should be based.
This aspect of public health is particularly applicable to Southgate.
Our Borough has many advantages, not only natural
ldvantages, but amenities which have been provided over the years
by the care and foresight of those who were responsible for
Southgate's growth from a rural outpost to a busy thriving community.
Just as, however, conditions of life have hardened over the
past few decades, so far as the individual is concerned, the
lifficulties which face a community such as Southgate are constantly
increasing. We have few, if any, slums; our carefully regulated
density of population, our parks and open spaces are an envy to
many. None the less, the housing and economic situation is making
it clearer every year that the fight to maintain what we have won
must continue unabated, if not with added power. This is a fact
which can bear constant repetition; to shut one's eyes to the obvious
needs would be nothing short of folly.
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