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4
Health Department,
Council House,
Hounslow,
1st May, 1918.
To the Chairman and Members of the Heston and Isleworth
Urban District Council.
Gentlemen,
The disquieting features of the year's report are the substantial
increase in the general and infant death rates. In both cases, the
rates for the district are distinctly higher than those for England
and Wales as a whole, although as a general rule the district
compares very favourably with England and Wales. Among the
diseases which have contributed to these increased death rates may
be mentioned Tuberculosis, Cancer and Premature Birth. As I have
mentioned in the body of the report, the incidence of Tuberculosis
and Infant Deaths is particularly heavy in Hounslow South and
Isleworth North.
While the factors conducing to a high rate of mortality are
undoubtedly complex, particularly in view of the abnormal circumstances
created by the War, it is a question whether some part
of the cause may not be found in the general relaxation of the
sanitary administration of the district. Apart from the shortage
of Staff, there is much greater delay and difficulty in securing the
remedy of nuisances, and this is unfortunately particularly the case
in regard to house property in the wards mentioned above. Owing
to the cessation of house to house inspection, it is only possible
to attend to nuisances which are the subject of written complaint
or which may be discovered upon the investigation of cases of infectious
disease. This neglect, although it may be unavoidable in
present circumstances, must lead to a general lowering of the
housing conditions in the district, which in due course will be
reflected in the statistics of disease and death in the district.