View report page

Report of the
Medical Officer of Health.
Municipal Offices,
Kingston-upon-Thames,
March, 1928.
To the Corporation of Kingston-upon-Thames.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my Annual Report for the
year 1927.
Circular 834 (Ministry of Health) directs that the Annual
Report for 1927 will be an Ordinary Report, that is, a report
of a more simple character than the full Survey Report which
the Medical Officer of Health was asked to prepare for
1925.
There was an outbreak of Diphtheria in the autumn,
otherwise the Borough has enjoyed a year of comparative
freedom from infectious diseases.
The duties of Meat Inspection continue to be very
heavy, and have been conscientiously carried out, occupying
a great part of the time of the Sanitary Inspector.
Housing conditions show definite improvement, and
overcrowding is far less acute than it was some years ago.
The steady increase in the attendance at the Ante-natal
Clinic is most gratifying, and has fully justified its
establishment.
The Birth Rate was 13.1 per 1,000 population, the lowest
on record for the Borough, and compares unfavourably
with 16.7 for England and Wales.
The Death Rate was 12.4 per 1,000 population, which
slightly exceeds that of the whole country.
I thank Mr. H. T. Perry your Chief Sanitary Inspector,
and the Staff of the Public Health Department for their
loyal support at all times.
I am, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
E. W. MATTHEWS,
Medical Officer of Health,