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To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Borough of Southall.
MR. MAYOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I have the honour to present the forty-second Annual Report on the
health and sanitary circumstances of the district.
The vital statistics of the area for the year reveal on the whole that
hygienic conditions are in a very satisfactory state. Continued growth in the
population which has now reached 52,400 is worthy of comment, whilst increase
in the birth rate to 10.34 per 1,000 of the population demonstrates the direction
of trend will be towards an increasing population for some few years. The
crude and comparable death rates for the borough are 8.64 and 9.85 per thousand
of the population respectively, which figures are considerably below those of
the country as a whole. An increase to 65 per 1,000 live births has occurred
in the infantile mortality rate, and this is chiefly due to 14 deaths of premature
infants occurring in the first week of life. Particular attention is paid to the
early visiting of infants by staff of the department and an increasing vigilance
is obviously necessary.
On the 28th May, 1938, the new Branch Health Centre was opened and
a brochure published describing the building. Need for this provision has been
justified by the fact that it is fully used on every working day, and attendances
now are greater than at the Manor House.
It is with some pleasure that I direct attention to the continued success
of the clinical services provided by the Council. Attendances at the ante-natal
sessions during the year reached a total of 2,688 which is 948 greater than
during last year. This is not a mere exaltation of figures, as during the year
531 new attendances were recorded which is 62.03 per cent, of the total births.
The total of persons attending the child welfare sessions has now reached an
annual figure of 14,537, which is an increase of 1,849. The number of new
infant cases seen was 711, equivalent to 86 per cent, of the total live births.
Despite the consequent additional work thrown upon the health visitors,
14,457 domiciliary visits were paid during the year—an increase of over 3,600
on the preceding year.
The Food and Drugs Act, 1938, reached statute form during the year
and in addition to departmental re-organisation an application was made to
the Minister requesting him to direct that the Borough Council should, in lieu
of the County Council, be the Food and Drugs authority as respects this district.
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