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6
The services in Bromley endeavour to practice this
policy, and if not carried out in all our services it is
most certainly so in the Maternity and Child Welfare
and in the services of the Sanitary Inspectors. In certain
directions the School Medical Service departs from the
principle, especially in the operations for tonsils and
adenoids, but this is discussed more fully in the body
of the report. Perhaps our outstanding defect is the
lack of physical training in our schools, which is not a
matter to be shelved indefinitely and to me is of far
greater importance than many of the services carried
out by the Local Authority.
There is a growing demand for maternity beds in
hospitals and nursing homes; our local provision is by
no means adequate to meet this demand. The advantages
to the mother are obvious as they are obvious to all
who would have at heart the welfare of the future State.
No less than 17 mothers in Bromley in 1931 had their
confinements in the one room where they were living as
lodgers.
Infectious diseases remained at a normal level,
except for Scarlet Fever, which reached the apex of its
expected incidence curve. We should now have a low
incidence of Scarlet Fever for the next five years, unless
an influx of population should interfere with the
immunity rate of the inhabitants.
Summarising the Vital Statistics for 1931, there is
an actual fall in the Birth Rate in accordance with the
fall in the Birth Rate for England and Wales. The
Infant Death Rate shows an unexpected increase, owing
to the number of inward transfer deaths exceeding the
estimate. A slight increase in the Death Rate over 1930
is brought about by an increase in the deaths from
respiratory diseases.
The large housing estates developed within the
Borough will have an influence on all our vital statistics;
unemployment among males and the increased employment
of young females will in due course affect these
statistics, and must be factors to be taken into consideration
when comparisons are made.