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2
METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF SHOREDITCH
To the MAYOR, ALDERMEN and COUNCILLORS of Shore ditch.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The annual report for 1947 is still in an abridged form, though I have felt it
advisable to extend the sections covering the more important parts of the services
transferable under the National Health Service Act.
The vital statistics show that the Borough's resident population at mid-year
was 44,610, but the daytime population for which most of the services have catered
could not even be guessed, though the popularity of our foot clinics would indicate
a figure approaching 500,000! It can be said, however, that the factory population
is 26,770, and that warehouses, shops and offices account for at least 20,000, thus
doubling the population, at a conservative estimate.
The birth rate was maintained at the high level of 23.18, 1,044 live babies being
born without a single maternal death, although 63 births were illegitimate. The crude
death rate rose to 14.82, but 393 of the 661 were more than 65 years of age and 480
had the benefit of institutional treatment. Between the ages of 1 and 65, cancer
and heart disease, together with the 30 who died from pulmonary tuberculosis,
accounted for more than half. Of the cancer deaths in men, the lungs and stomach
exceeded all others combined as sites of election; but women showed no specially
weak spot. The infant mortality rate was 41.19 per 1,000 live births, and was almost
equally divided between pneumonia, "digestive diseases" (of which only 4 were
diarrhosal), prematurity, accidents and malformation. As a possible indication of the
success of our premature babies' scheme (reported more fully in body of report) it may
be remarked here that no premature baby died after the age of 1 week. Of infectious
diseases (other than T.B.) whooping cough was by far the most fatal—a state of affairs
which we hope will not continue, as we have since started immunisation sessions for
this disease as well as for diphtheria. Measles and whooping cough had by far the
highest incidence of all infections, but, while measles was less than in 1946, whooping
cough further increased. Diphtheria incidence averaged only one per month, but
there was one death (not immunised). The outstanding drop in incidence was of
scabies notifications which were reduced from 154 in 1946 to only 62. In common
with the rest of the country, Shoreditch had a great increase in the amount of
poliomyelitis, there being 22 cases confirmed as suffering from this, as well as two cases
of polioencephalitis. Although there was one death (a boy aged 11 years), the effects
remaining after hospital treatment were almost negligible in nearly every case.
The onset was between 2½ and 28 years of age, and while only 4 were under 5, and
4 between 5 and 10, there were 7 cases between 10 and 15, and another 7 were more