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2.
To the MAYOR, ALDERMEN and COUNCILLORS of the METROPOLITAN BOROUGH OF SHOREDITCH.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
During 1957 there have been several misrepresentations of Shoreditch by
outside bodies, the latest being the Registrar-General who states that the high
death rate from bronchitis in the Borough is because "the smoke pall lies heavy".
In point of fact this department at any rate has been delighted with the results
shown by the measuring apparatus which is in constant operation on the Town Hall,
which shows that Shoreditch is among the cleanest of the London Boroughs.
Another authority has spoken of the large Communist element in Shoreditch, which
I am sure the Borough Council would like vigorously contradicted, especially as
regards its own constitution (similarly with the accusation of Fascism in
another instance). In fact Shoreditch would appear to be among the most truly
democratic and clean areas, although it did not quite live up to the exemplary
standards of 1956 as regards the infant mortality rate (21.94 as against 16.53).
The improvement in the death rate at all ages is more apparent than real, for
this was the first year in which the deaths at our local Geriatric Hospital
(St.Matthew's) were referred partly to the Boroughs from which the patients had
been admitted to hospital. Total deaths from tuberculosis were the same as in
1956, but it is a point worthy of note that not one of these deaths had been
in a patient under active treatment by our local Chest Physician, Dr.Cullen,
who has proved himself to be outstanding in the tuberculosis world, and
universally popular with all in the Borough.
To return to the more usual diseases causing death,-while there has been an
increase in deaths from cancer of the lung (from 29 to 37) and of the stomach
(22 as against 15), it is pleasing to note that coronary disease took a smaller
toll of 64 instead of last year's 100, although there were more than twice as
many males as females this year, while in 1956, females suffered equally with
the men. There has been no maternal death since 1951, and even that was the
result of a self-induced abortion.
While there were no deaths from any of the notifiable diseases (apart from
tuberculosis) I regret to say that we had one case of diphtheria in a child
aged 9 years, at a time when there had been no diphtheria near London for many '
months. I can only assume that her father (being a long-distance lorry driver)
had carried the infection from the North on a toys however, there was
fortunately no spread of the disease. It was a heavy year for measles, but
light for polio, whooping cough and even for dysentery (although doubtful
cases were all bacteriologically examined). The much-heralded "Asian flu" epidemic
merely showed that this population has a high resistance, the main outbreak
being mild and chiefly in schoolchildren.
The Council's Social Welfare Services continued to expand (more detail
on p.22 ) especially in the visiting of old age pensioners at their own homes,
and in the numbers of guests at the Council's Holiday Home in Sussex, the
other activities being at a more-or-less constant level. For the visiting we
have been gratified by the City of London and East London Dispensary's help
towards one visitor, and for the Holiday Home to King Edward's Hospital Fund
for an unprecedented amount of assistance.