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BOROUGH OF BRENTFORD AND CHISWICK
Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Chiswick, W.4.
To the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of
the Borough of Brentford and Chiswick.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present the 21st Annual Report on the
Health and Sanitary circumstances of the Borough of Brentford
and Chiswick.
On July 5th,, 1948, the Maternity and Child Welfare services
which were previously your responsibility, were transferred to the
control of the County Council of Middlesex, and therefore in this
Report statistics and remarks on the conduct of the Maternity
and Child Welfare services will be confined to the period from
1st January to 4th July, 1948. All other information relates to
the whole of the calendar year.
The health of the population continued to be good.
A study of the vital statistics demonstrates a fall in the birth
rate, which was 17.9 compared with 19.2 in 1947. In the year
1946 the birth rate was 23.6, but this appears to have been a
peak year for the district as previous rates were very much lower.
The general trend, however, appears to be for an annual decrease
in the birth rate in the district.
The death rate was 11.5—this is a reduction from 12.1 in
1947. The number who died from tuberculosis was 39 as compared
with 38 in 1947, and there was also an increase of one in
the number dying from cancer. Cancer (115 deaths) was the
second largest cause of death ; the largest being heart disease,
deaths from which numbered 165.
A very noteworthy figure is the infant mortality rate of 28.7
the corresponding figure for 1947 is 36.6. The particulars on
Table II of the causes of infant deaths do not indicate an outstanding
reduction in any particular cause, but a point, however,
to be noted is that only one infant died from enteritis during the
year, whereas there were four such deaths during 1947. The
infant mortality rate in 1948 for England and Wales was 34, that
for London 31, and for the County Boroughs and Great Towns
(including London) 39, so that the local figure is well below all
these.
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