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TO THE MAYOR, ALDERMEN AND COUNCILLORS OF THE
BOROUGH OF SUTTON AND CHEAM
Mr. Mayor. Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present to you my Annual Report on the health of
the Borough for the year 1963. It has been prepared in accordance with
Ministry of Health Circular No. 1/64.
The estimated population increased by thr ee hundred and forty to
seventy eight thousand, seven hundred and seventy. The birth rate was
again higher at 15.64 births per thousand of population. As the comparability
factor this year is 1.0 no adjustment is necessary and the figure compares
with a birth rate of 14 99 (15.59 adjusted) in 1962. The birth rate in
England and Wales was 18.2 per thousand.
The death rate was higher before adjustment at 13.7 per thousand of
population (12.95 in 1962) but after adjusting by a comparability factor of
0.87 was marginally lower at 11.93 (12,04). The death rate in England and
Wales was 12.2 per thousand.
The main causes of deaths were coronary and other heart disease,
malignant neoplasms, and vascular lesions of the nervous system. During
1963 there were rather fewer deaths from cancer of the lung and bronchus
but more from cancer of the stomach and breast. There were two maternal
deaths after four free years. The infantile mortality rate was also higher
at 17.0 per thousand births in 1963, compared with 16.2 in 1962. The
infantile mortality rate for England and Wales was 20.9.
Deaths from accidents in 1963 numbered twenty eight (twenty nine in
1962) of which twelve (seven) were due to motor vehicle accidents and
nine (fourteen) to home accidents. There were nine deaths from suicide - a
pleasing reduction of five over 1962.
There was an increase in the number of cases of infectious disease,
largely accounted for by the normal big increase in Measles which occurs
every other year. There was no case of Diphtheria, and Poliomyelitis
remained absent for the fifth successive year. The continued absence of
these two serious diseases rests very definitely in the hands of all parents.
It has long been realised that if seventy five per cent. of the children are
immunised against Diphtheria, the disease does not spread, and if this
percentage is applied to the country, the disease dies out. The success of
the Poliomyelitis Vaccination campaign suggests a similar position in
regard to Poliomyelitis, and with the easy to administer oral vaccine, I
hope we can look forward to nearing a hundred per cent. protection of
children and special groups. There was an unnotified death reported from
Meningococcal Infection. There was no case of Typhoid Fever, but there
was a small related group of Paratyphoid Fever cases.
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