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PREFACE
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Metropolitan Borough of Woolwich.
Mb. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have pleasure in submitting the Fifty-third Annual Report on the health and
sanitary conditions of the Borough of Woolwich. The Report has been compiled
as outlined by the Ministry of Health.
The home population of the Borough at mid-1953 was 151,100, being 700 less
than that for the previous year, but still over 3,000 more than at the time of the
1951 Census.
The post-war trend in the Borough's birth and death rates continued, there
being a slight decline in both the birth and death rates. Due to an increase in the
population of the Borough during the past three years, and because of the fewer
total births, the birth rate is now below the National and London averages, although
the local stillbirth rate compares favourably with that for the rest of the country.
The corrected Woolwich death rate for 1953 was 10.3, compared with 11.4 for
England and Wales, and 12.5 for London.
The principal causes of death were again cancer and heart diseases, which
together accounted for over 50 per cent. of the total deaths. There were three
fatal cases of poliomyelitis, and no maternal deaths. Motor vehicle accidents were
responsible for eleven deaths of Woolwich residents.
The majority of the 48 infant deaths occurred in the first week of life. The
infant death rate was 21.4 compared with 26.8 for England and Wales, and 24.8
for London.
The latest local tuberculosis death rate is very encouraging. Total Woolwich
deaths from tuberculosis in all its forms during 1953 was 29; only 12 years ago
there were as many as 127 deaths from this disease, and even in the year 1947
there were 101 local deaths from tuberculosis.
No case of diphtheria occurred and, in fact, there has been no fatal case from
this disease in the Borough for the past seven years.
There was again an absence of any serious outbreak of food poisoning, the few
cases occurring locally being confined to a small number of families and they call
for no particular comment.
The inspection and supervision of food premises plays a large part in the work
of the Department, and in 1953 over 4,000 inspections were made of food shops
and other food premises in the Borough. Once again a large number of food
samples has been obtained by the Council's Sampling Officers for analysis, in order
to ensure that the food is of the nature, substance and quality expected, and is
free from adulteration. Food premises in the Borough are visited regularly, and
with the co-operation of the occupiers it has been possible to secure improvements
by means of this informal approach. Much time and attention has again been
devoted to the inspection of meat at the Garland Road Abattoir, where the total
kill has again been heavy, due mainly to the large number of pigs slaughtered.
During 1953, considerable progress was made by the Council towards the
redevelopment of the St. Mary's Redevelopment Area, which comprises some 72
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