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7
Preface
Public Health Offices,
Ilford.
July, 1958.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of llfordMr.
Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I submit herewith the Annual Report of the Health Services for the
year 1957.
As usual, in order to make this report more readable, individual
officers have made their own short reports, details of which will be seen
in the table of contents; note should be taken of the Chief Public Health
Inspector's remarks on Clean Air, and the forthright report of the Welfare
Worker for the Aged. Various other matters are discussed in my own
preface. The bulk of the report otherwise is, of course, for reference and
for those who wish to consult details.
Births and Deaths.
With 2,219 births as compared with 2,164 deaths, my prognostication
of a few years back that deaths would soon exceed births has not,
fortunately, been fulfilled. The death rate of 11.33 is somewhat greater
than the year before but below that for England and Wales (11.5). An
interesting feature is the steadily increasing number of deaths that occur
in institutions. In 1955 this was 39%, in 1956 47% and last year 49%,
practically half.
Once again most of the deaths are due to diseases of old
age. Of the 2,164 deaths, 643 result from degenerative diseases of the
blood vessels, the greater bulk of these being that modern killer of the
middle aged male, coronary disease. Various forms of cancer form the
next big group and account for 392 deaths. 102 of these are cancer
of the lung. The incidence of cancer of the lung in llford is steadily
rising. The rate per million is 567 as compared with 481 for the previous
year and is considerably above that for the rest of England. This is possibly
due to the fact that not only do llford people smoke their fair share
of cigarettes but are on the wrong side of London with respect to air
pollution. Bronchitis accounted for 119 deaths. The British Isles, of
course, have by far the worst record of this disease amongst the countries
of the world. The causes are probably very similar to those of cancer
of the lung. Once again deaths from accidents, other than road accidents,
considerably exceed those on the road, in fact they are more than double.
Two signs, one of progress and the other of failure, in the prevention
and treatment of disease is that there were only 13 deaths from tuberculosis
as compared with 22 from suicide. We seem to be conquering the former
but very little seems to be possible to reduce the deaths from suicide,
the results of social and personal maladjustment.
The birth rate is rising. The rate of 12.23 births per thousand is
higher than 11.48 for 1956 and 11.21 for 1955. It is, however, only about
three quarters of the rate for England and Wales. We make up for this