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REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER
OF HEALTH.
To the Chairman and Members of the Urban District Council of
Harrow.
Mr. Chairman, Mrs. Roberts and Gentlemen.
I beg to submit the Annual Report on the Health and Sanitary
Circumstances of the District for the year 1942.
The health of the district during the year under review in general
remained good. A slight increase in the death rate was recorded over the
figure for the previous year, the actual number of deaths being the largest
that have occurred in this area. While the infant mortality rate for
the years 1940 and 1941 showed a sharp rise on the pre-war figures, an
analysis of the causes suggested it was not inevitable that the increase
should be sustained during the war period. 1942 showed'a welcome fall
for these figures to a rate not very different from the best of the pre-war
years. The figure for the country as a whole showed a similar fall from
that of 59 for 1941 to 49 for 1942. Only in 1940 was the maternal
mortality rate lower than that for last year.
Of the infections scarlet fever was much more prevalent than during
recent years, a marked increase occurring particularly in the last quarter.
Diphtheria incidence remained at the usual low level. Measles was
prevalent in the first half of the year, though resulting in few fatalities.
There was a further fall in the incidence of cerebro-spinal fever, and
there was only one case of paratyphoid infection. A greater than usual
number of notifications of dysentery was received. Notifications of
tuberculosis were at a lower level than the previous year but still much
higher than the pre-war figures.
The usual maternity and child welfare services have been maintained
with little change, the increase in clinic attendances necessitating the
opening of additional sessions. The average weekly attendance at the
infant welfare centres remains though very far short of pre-war experience.
The very extensive changes in the staff of health visitors which
occurred during the year, more changes in a number of months than had
occurred in former years, caused their own difficulties in this branch of
the service. Competing demands for the labour of women has caused
difficulties in finding accommodation for foster children and also in finding
home helps to attend the homes of those who are being confined at home.
This is the more unfortunate as the need for such assistance is now
greater than ever, both because of the demand on hospital accommodation
which is so much in excess of that available and because the women are
deprived of what assistance they might in other circumstances have
obtained because their relatives, friends and neighbours are now otherwise
engaged.