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73
SECTION IV—CAUSES OF SICKNESS.
Specify any causes of sickness and invalidity which have
been specially noteworthy in the district during the year. (This
should include information obtained from local general practitioners).
Unfortunately, no definite information is available on this
subject, but it can be safely said that there was a phenomenally
low incidence of sickness during the year amongst
the inhabitants of Woolwich.
Generally the death rate throws some light on the sickness
rate, and when it is noted that 68 per cent, of the deaths
occurring in 1923 were of persons over 45 years of age, and
that at no time in the history of the Borough has the proportion
of deaths amongst persons under 45 years of age
been so low, the statement set out above can be safely made.
I have been in personal communication with the medical
practitioners in the Borough during the year, and have
gathered in general conversation that they have had very
little sickness to deal with. At the end of the year I wrote
to several of them on this question, and their replies were so
uniform that they might have been prepared in this office
in advance and cyclostyled. The following is typical:—
" In reply to your letter, there is nothing noteworthy
to report as regards health conditions during the year."
What is written above is true up to, and including November.
In December there was a rise in the sickness rate and
there was some increase in the number of cases of bronchitis
and other catarrhal diseases.
There was very little infectious disease, the notifications
of diphtheria being lower than they have ever been in the
records of the Borough.