View report page

59
Prevention of Tuberculosis
The various preventive measures detailed in the Report for
1950 continued in subsequent years and were shared between the
Borough Council ,as Sanitary Authority, and as the Excepted
District for Education, and by the Health Area Sub-Committee
administering the Part III Services under the National Health
Service Act.
The preventive services operated by the Borough Council
include the following : Rehousing on Medical Grounds, "Mobile
Meals" where necessary and Housing Inspection, both to improve
living conditions and to investigate possible sources of infection.
SICKNESS BENEFIT
The arrangement under which a statement of new claims for
Sickness Benefit is received weekly from the Ministry of National
Insurance has provided an interesting measure of morbidity. During
the past six years the weekly average of new claims was as
follows. The consistency of those for the months of June to
October will be noted up to 1957 when Influenza supervened in
the Autumn.
1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957
January 464 747 500 660 578 661
February 433 832 513 632 630 412
March 390 401 375 474 432 470
April 350 300 267 300 279 304
May 270 232 314 263 291 314
June 214 237 252 264 249 257
July 200 197 220 224 228 221
August 205 201 209 228 214 214
September 262 257 284 271 295 429
October 369 370 348 363 368 1,202
November 311 360 366 370 424 598
December 426 291 299 350 339 669
Average
per week 323 363 327 360 357 479
(The large number of claims in January and February, 1953,
reflected the delayed effects of the severe "smog" experienced in
December, 1952. The incidence of Influenza is reflected in the
October, 1957 figure).