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To: The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough:
One of the prescribed duties of a Medical Officer of Health is to present to his Council an annual
report, and as a result this document contains an account of the circumstances prevailing in the area
during 1967. Because annual reports contain a considerable amount of standardised information, they
become sources of information available to future generations, and collectively they will provide
essential data for the social scientists of the future.
Nineteen sixty-seven was the second complete year in which the Health and Welfare Department
carried out its statutory functions. The process of consolidation and integration was continued, and
every effort was made to unify the various sections into a composite whole so that overlapping was
avoided and the available manpower was used to the maximum possible benefit of the patient.
During the year it was possible to link up more closely with a number of voluntary organisations,
and as a result these agencies were able to perform most valuable work, for which both the Department
and the public owe a deep debt of gratitude.
In these days it is no longer necessary to make any extended reference to the incidence of infectious
diseases. The killing diseases now are diseases of the heart and vascular system and cancer. The picture
will be quite clearly seen by reference to the table on Page 19. The death rate from cancer was 2.12 per
thousand of the population, (the national rate being 2.27). This rate is a slight increase over the figure
for the previous year. The death rate for cancer of the lung was 0.61 per thousand, compared with the
national rate of 0.58. Study of these lung cancer figures leads inevitably to the question as to how this
condition can be prevented. It is necessary to say again that in this connection the evidence is overwhelming
that prolonged and excessive cigarette smoking is the main underlying cause of lung cancer.
A great deal of research has been carried out all over the world, and it has hitherto not been possible
to shake the idea that excessive cigarette smoking is the main cause of lung cancer, nor has any method
been found to render cigarette tobacco harmless. The prevention of lung cancer, consequently, lies not
with the medical practitioner but with the individual himself. The cigarette habit where established
should be abandoned, and it is the duty of parents wherever possible to discourage their children from
developing a liking for cigarette smoking.
Although, as indicated already, no extended reference to infectious diseases is now necessary, it is
pertinent to say that there was no case of diphtheria or poliomyelitis in the borough, and in fact there
has been no case of diphtheria since 1949. The present satisfactory position in connection with the control
of infectious diseases is entirely dependent on the successful prosecution of the immunisation procedures
available. It is essential that a high level of immunity is maintained in the community because only in
this way will epidemics of infectious diseases be avoided. Because there has been comparative freedom
from a number of infectious diseases for a considerable time, their effects are no longer frightening.
Consequently it becomes more and more difficult to persuade parents to have their children immunised
against diseases which they no longer know and have certainly never seen.
In this connection also it is necessary to draw attention to the risk that this borough sustains owing
to the nearness of Heathrow Airport and the possible importation of conditions like smallpox.
Obviously many airport workers and their families living in the borough are at risk and should be protected
by vaccination. The present recommendation is that vaccination should be carried out during the
second year, and once this is done, any subsequent re-vaccination, whether because of contact with a
case or because of the needs of foreign travel, becomes a simple procedure.
The welfare section of the department continued to carry out its statutory duties—mainly of course
those prescribed by the National Assistance Act, and the process of integration with the various sections
of the Health Department continued. Every effort was made to carry out these duties with the minimum
of manpower, and arrangements were introduced so that the information derived from various sources
was made available to all those members of the department who could make use of it.
During the year two new Part III Homes were opened; Brookfield, Park Road, Uxbridge, (54
beds) and Belle Vue, Harlington Road, Hillingdon, (53 beds). These purpose-built Homes have of
course proved of immense value, and the facilities provided are greatly appreciated by the residents.