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ANNUAL REPORT
FOR THE YEAR 1950
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
Chingford Corporation.
Mr. Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors,
I have pleasure in submitting my Annual Report for the year
1950 upon the health and sanitary circumstances of the Borough.
In the realm of Vital Statistics, the Infant Mortality Rate—
i.e., the number of deaths of infants under one year per thousand
live births—has reached the record low figure of 11.6. The rate
for England and Wales as a whole was 29.8.
The birth rate remained virtually the same as the previous
year, 14.2 per thousand (14.1 per thousand in 1949).
The death rate of 7.7 per thousand was slightly less than in
1949, when it was 8.3.
Infectious fevers, on the whole, showed a marked decline,
particularly in regard to Measles and Whooping Cough. A single
case of Typhoid Fever occurred, the first for 10 years.
The Mass Radiography Unit paid its first visit to Chingford
during the year : details are set out on page 27.
The campaign for Clean Food advanced appreciably during the
year. In this connection it is noteworthy that Chingford became
its own Food and Drugs Authority on the 1st October, 1950, in
lieu of the Essex County Council ; this new administrative power
should very materially assist in maintaining the highest standards
of food hygiene in the Borough.
In conclusion, I am most grateful to the Chairman and
Members of the Health Committee for their support and to Mr.
J. F. Rogers, Chief Sanitary Inspector, and the Staff of the Health
Department for their hard work and assistance during the year.
I am, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient servant,
J. H. CROSBY,
Medical Officer of Health.
July, 1951.
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