Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Feltham]
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2
Telephone:
Feltham 2281 and 3281
Public Health Department,
Council Offices,
Feltham.
July 1960
To: The Chairman and Members of the Feltham Urban District
Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present the Annual Report on the Health and
Sanitation of your District for the year 1959.
The vital statistics for 1959 show some degree of variation
when compared with the figures for 1958. With an increase
both in population and number of inhabited dwellings at
approximately 1,000 and 270 respectively, the Birth Rate fell
by 1.1 to 15.0 per thousand of population and the Death Rate
rose by 1.8 to 13.5 per thousand of population. The numbers
of deaths from Coronary Disease and Cancer were practically
the same as for 1958 and the chief causes for the increase were
(a) deaths due to Pneumonia where the rate was about equal
between the sexes and (b) deaths due to heart and circulatory
diseases other than coronary diseases—in this instance the
rate was higher in females.
Two hundred and twenty-four deaths registered were of
people over 70 years of age, i.e., 50.3 of the total deaths registered
in the district.
The infant mortality rate shows an increase of 2.8 to 24.1
per thousand live births. The majority of these deaths
occurred in infants less than four weeks old and were due in
the main to congenital defects and prematurity. The low Still
Birth rate of 11.1 per thousand (Live and Still) Births is no
doubt an indication of the value of good and careful ante-natal
care resulting in more live births. Unfortunately, however,
even though more babies are being born alive, many still die
within the first four weeks of life (Neo-Natal Death Rate) and
this fact only goes to show that still greater efforts are required
to improve to an even higher degree, the Ante-Natal care of
mothers and the Post-Natal care of the child.
The incidence of infectious disease in the district was
slightly higher due in the main to the number of cases of
measles (433). This followed the usual pattern being relatively
mild—only 15 cases (3 per cent.) requiring admittance to
hospital—and mainly affecting infant school children.