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P R E F A C E .
TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS OF
THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KINGSTON -UPON -THAMES.
Mr, Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Report for the year
1944,
As directed by the Minister of Health, the Report
is abbreviated and confined to essential and urgent matters
relating to the public Health and Social Medicine,
Apart from War Emergency considerations the general
health of the people remained good throughout the year.
The Registrar General's estimate of the population
was 34,780, a decrease of 1,120 from the figure for 1943.
The number of Live Births was 578 giving a rate
of 16,62 as compared with 637 and a rate of 17,77 for 1943.
The number of deaths was 474 giving a crude death
rate of 13.63 as compared with 500 and a rate of 13.92 for
1943.
The excess of births over deaths in 1944 was 104 as
compared with 137 in 1943.
The number of deaths of infants under one year of
age was 28 as compared with 31 in 1943.
The rate per 1,000 live births (infantile Mortality
Rate) was 48,44 as compared with 48,7 for 1943.
The Infantile Mortality Rate, averaged for successive
quinquennial periods from 1925 onwards to 1944, demonstrates
a decline from 69 for the period ending 1925 to 55 for the
period ending 1944. The actual rate for 1925 was 73, the
rate for 1944 was 48, The highest rate in the series was
76 in 1924, the lowest 26 in 1939.
The downward trend of this figure is encouraging and
is some return for the Maternity and Child Welfare efforts
during the period, I believe, however, that the rate of
decline is capable of accelleration.
•
In general it must be stated that several factors are
known to influence favourably, the infantile mortality
rate. These include medical, nursing and welfare services;
stable economic circumstances in the home allowing of minimal
family budgets to maintain nutrition; good housing
conditions with adequate sanitary amentities and absence
of overcrowding; together with other factors, which may
operate, constantly or intermittently.
If a combination of these factors can be brought to
bear on the population in the coming years, continued improvement
in the infantile mortality rate may be looked
for.
After the changes which the war years have brought,
fuller and more accurate information is required, to
co-ordinate the work of medical practitioners, health
visitors, sanitary inspectors, surveyors and social welfare
workers, which, subject to scientific analysis and report