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To the Mayor and Members of the Council.
I have the honour to submit my first Annual Report on
the health and welfare of the new Royal Borough. This is a
compulsory report complying with Circular 1/66 of the Ministry
of Health.
Although the new borough only came into existence on
the 1st April, the report covers the whole year by including
data for the first three months supplied by the constituent
authorities.
Despite the short life of the new borough I am the
second Medical Officer of Health. The death at the end of July
of Dr.J.W.Starkey, so well known and loved, was a great loss to
all. It was a joy to him to be at the head of a combined Health
and Welfare Department of an all purpose authority and it was his
great wish that the new department should be well established
before his impending retirement.
The integration of the three public health departments
of the constituent district authorities and the separate
divisional health and welfare departments of the Surrey Comity
Council into one department was accomplished without any
dislocation of the services or inconvenience to the public.
This was due in no small measure to the assistance given by
officers of the County Council as regards the transferred services.
The death rate, infant mortality rate, and also the
birth rate were well below the national average. Of 363 deaths
from cancer 102 (80 men and 22 women) were attributed to cancer of
the lung, caused no doubt in many instances by cigarette smoking.
It is interesting to compare the 102 deaths from lung cancer with
the 48 deaths from accidents of all types, including 21 road
accidents.
1965 was an epidemic year for measles. There were no
cases of poliomyelitis reported for the fourth successive year,
and there have been no cases of diphtheria since 1947 in the
district.
The amalgamation produced few special problems for the
Environmental Health Section but I should like to pay tribute to
Mr.P.E.Kinton, Chief Public Health Inspector, for the efficient
manner in which he dealt with this and for his co-operation at all
times.