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Telephone:
TEDdington Lock 2223-4.
TEDdington Lock 4411-5.
PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
ELMFIELD HOUSE,
HIGH STREET,
TEDDINGTON.
To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough of Twickenham.
MR. MAYOR, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
I have the honour to present the Annual Report on the work of
the Health Department; the statistical tables refer to the calendar
year 1962,
The population of the Borough based on the 1951 census was
105,645 and the 1961 census gave a population of 100,971, a fall
of about 5,000 during the ten year period. The estimated figure
for mid-year 1962 was 102,500. The average density at the 1961
census was 14.4 persons per acre, but this varied from 28.1 in
West Twickenham to 5.0 in Hampton Wick. In Hampton it was 7.4 but
these last two figures are unrealistic by reason of the inclusion
of the park. The working figure is about 25 persons per acre. The
average persons per room was 0.62; it was highest in Heathfield at
0.69 and lowest in Lower Teddington at 0. 59.
We know there are about 6,500 children under 5 and about 13,000
school children. This leaves about 83,000 in other age groups and of
these there are about 14,000 "older people" -say in the age range
65 upwards.
Prom these figures we see that the services dealing with
health, social and welfare conditions are responsible for about
33,500 people of whom more than half need periodic attention. The
Ten Year Plan 1 emphasises the importance of placing ever more
responsibility on the services of local authorities to enable everyone
to live a full, happy and healthy life in a comfortable home.
To enable this to be done requires extensive supporting services of
all kinds. The local authorities will thus find themselves taking
the burden ever more heavily on their local rates of expenditure
formerly borne by the hospitals as a national charge; and themselves
providing more and more supporting and ancillary medical services.
This trend is here already; we are providing practitioners with
nurses in their surgeries, with midwives in their surgeries and
at clinics, with health visitors both in their surgeries and on
call, and with mental health and social workers for weekly sessions.
All this is new this last few years. A year ago I commented on
the wasteful division of the health services into the three
categories. I have lately noticed the early beginnings of a new
heart and understanding in the relationships between the practitioners'
organisation and our own, which is a very welcome change for the
better.
In the preface to the report on the development of local authority
community care the Minister says there can be few people into whose lives
1. Health and Welfare; The Development of Community Care; (1963) Cmnd l973
H.M.S.O. London.
2