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To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen, and Councillors
of the County Borough of East Ham.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to submit the Annual Report on the state of the Public
Health and the record of sanitary work carried out during the
year 1925, together with my report as School Medical Officer,
as requested by the Ministry of Health and Board of Education.
The Borough still occupies a very satisfactory position in
regard to mortality statistics, the death rate being as low as
10.58, and infant mortality 53.
The birth rate still shows a further decrease, being 17'3 as
against 23'2 in 1920, due to the present unsatisfactory social conditions,
but it is satisfactory to note that the infant mortality is
still low, as it is important with the ever decreasing birth rate that
the life of every child born should be maintained.
I regret the Council have not seen fit to increase the staff of
Health Visitors to the required standard, as recommended by the
Ministry of Health.
I repeat the following extract from my Annual Report for
1914:—
"This work (Maternity and Child Welfare) is very necessary
in such a district as this. The fact that so many children
found at the medical inspection of school children to be suffering
from various ailments which might have been prevented in
early life, makes it the duty of the Public Health Authority to
take steps to prevent this, so that children arriving at school
age will be better able to benefit by the education provided."
With the present staff of Health Visitors it is not possible
to extend the visits and superintend the toddlers up to school age.
The School Medical Service continues to carry out very
efficient work, as will be noted in the report.
The position in regard to housing is still very unsatisfactory
and is the one great outstanding defect. The majority of the
houses built in the Borough are only for sale, so that this does
not actually relieve the overcrowding in the Borough, as those