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Wonsteid and Woodford Borough tail
TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS,
BOROUGH OF WANSTEAD AND WOODFORD.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Annual Report on the Health
Services in the Borough for the year 1956. As previously, a section
of the report is devoted to those personal health services under the
National Health Service Act which are administered by the Essex
County Council. A brief outline of the School Health Service is given.
Vital Statistics
Live births during the year fell by 17, the total number recorded
being 677. The Birth Rate per 1.000 population was 11.2, that for
the county as a whole being 15.3. There were 10 still-births, one
fewer than in 1955.
Deaths numbered 725, an increase of 76 over those occurring in
the previous year. Thus the death rate was 11.8 per 1,000 population
compared with a figure of 9.7 for 1955 and 11.7 for the whole
county during 1956. The increase in the number of deaths would
appear to be due to the effects of the extremely cold weather which
was experienced in the early months of the year and which took its
toll of the older population more especially those already suffering
from chest complaints.
The Infantile Mortality Rate, i.e., the deaths of infants under one
year of age per 1,000 live births, rose from 17.9 to 26.6, this being
the highest figure recorded during the past five years. At the first
sight this increase would seem disturbing but it must be borne in
mind that the totals dealt with are small and the figure is thus
easily raised. Also, on analysing the causes of death, out of a total
of 18, 11 were due to prematurity or congenital defect, some of these
children surviving birth for a few days only. On the other hand 4
deaths were certainlv preventable being due to accidental suffocation.
This will be referred to later when the question of accidents in the
home is being discussed. There were no maternal deaths during the
year.
Causes of Death
Commonest causes of death were 'diseases of the heart and
arteries' and cancer, those from the latter cause increasing from 119
to 135. The figure of deaths from cancer is identical with that
recorded two years ago.
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