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Public Health Department,
Queen Mary College,
Mile End Road,
London, E.1.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of
the Metropolitan Borough of Stepney.
Your Worship, Ladies & Gentlemen,
I beg to present my report for the year 1942. it is again
an abridged report in accordance with the direction of the
Ministry of Health (Circular 2773).
The Registrar General's estimate of the population of the
Borough is not recorded. Because of war conditions it fluctuated
and no accurate comparisons can be made with the figures of
former years.
The birth rate was 17.6 per 1,000.
The death rate decreased in 1942.
The death rate of infants under 1 year of age was 52.0 per
thousand live births.
Maternal mortality was 3.74 per thousand births.
Infectious disease during the year was again low as compared
with previous years. 780 notifications were received in 1942 compared
with 1027 in the previous year. The notable increases and
decreases compared with last year were as follows:Increases:-
Scarlet Fever from 66 to 130, Puerperal Pyrexia from
4 to 9, Dysentery from 3 to 7, Food Poisoning from 3 to 6.
Decreases:- Diphtheria from 120 to 47, Erysipilas from 66 to 59,
Cerebro Spinal Fever from 52 to 13, Measles from 3Q2 to 250,
Pneumonia 108 to 93, Whooping Cough from 214 to 158.
There were no cases of Smallpox.
The number of cases of Tuberculosis notified during the
year was 206.
All the peace-time health services carried on throughout
the year.
The diphtheria immunisation clinic at 35, Stepney Green
continued. The attendances have increased considerably namely from
1895 in 1941 to 3775 this year.
Four underground bakehouses, closed for a period of 12
months, were removed from the register leaving only 26 out of
the original 69 certificated in the year 1904.
The Sanitary Inspectors and certain other members of the
Public Health Department still assist in manning the rota for the
Casualty Services at the Civil Defence Control Centre, after
office hours.
This year we were fortunate in that no heavy demands were
made upon the Civil Defence services nor the public air raid shelters.
It was found possible to close down all the medical aid posts and
points in the shelters in June except 5 of the larger ones, and in
these the services of the paid staff were dispensed with and only
voluntary staff retained.
The arrangements for the routine visiting of public' air raid
shelters by doctors were also terminated in May. In substitution,
doctors are now only called to the shelters for urgent individual
cases and paid per case in accordance with the Ministry's scale.
In conclusion I should like once more to acknowledge the work
of the staff of the Department who, although depleted, have carried
on in the face of difficulties, and to accord my thanks to the
Chairmen of the Committees associated with the work of this Department
for their help and co-operation.
I am,
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
F.R. O'SHIEL.
Medical Officer of Health.