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Borough. However, a data bank is being built up in various directions—the
At Risk Registers and the Perinatal Survey of all births
(4,500 per annum average) which has been in progress for five
years—until new systems have been devised for collating on our
own computer useful facts and figures of health in all sections of
the community.
The Birth Rate continued to fall and is well below that for
Greater London and England and Wales—the adjusted rate for the
Borough is 14.4 per 1,000 population. The number of illegitimate
births has remained precisely the same for the last four years.
Reference to the summary of domiciliary midwives' work shows
that the number of domiciliary confinements is levelling out and
the decrease of 43 compares with a decrease of 301 and 255 in the
two previous years. For the first time, there is an increase in the
number attended for nursing only which reflects the trend towards
early hospital discharge.
No maternal deaths were notified and the neonatal, perinatal
and infant mortality rates were below national averages. Neonatal
deaths of infants are individually recorded in a special table which
sets out causation against three critical periods of the first month
of life.
Malignant disease was again an important cause of adult
deaths, the number of which this year reached 999. The increase of
303—arising at all main elective sites for cancer—included an
increase of 86 deaths in males and females from cancer of the lung
and of 2 deaths from cancer of the breast occurring in males.
Care of Mothers and Young Children
The amendment of the Nurseries and Child Minders Regulation
Act, 1948 has increased considerably the work of the Senior
Medical and Nursing staff concerned with the inspection, registration
and supervision of private nurseries, play groups and child
minders. No day nurseries are provided by this Borough but there
are 74 private nurseries and play groups providing for 2,585 places
—probably the highest concentration in the country of privately
provided nurseries.
The first routine three year re-examination of all women
screened for cervical cytology commenced and in addition this
service has been extended by evening clinics in hospitals and by
special clinics in factories and workplaces to which there has been
a good response. Leaflets for self-examination of breasts are available
at the clinics and patients are referred to their own family
doctors if a problem arises.
Routine screening tests for deafness in children under 2 years
of age commenced in 1968. The follow-up to these tests is described
in the report on the School Health Service.
The Committee approved the initiation of two new schemes in