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Mr.Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present my Annual Report for 1952.
The Registrar General's estimate of the mid-year population (170,500) is slightly
in excess of the 1951 Census figure of 170,100. Taking this together with the downward
trend of recent years, it seems that the population may have reached a more or less
stationary level, at least for the time being.
The birth rate, at 16.1 per 1,000 population, was lower than that of last year;
but it has fluctuated between 17.2 and 16.4 for the past three years and it seems as
though this also may be settling at a fairly steady level, about one per thousand higher
than in the immediate pre-war years. The death rate continues low at 10.7 per 1,000
population which is near the average for the past five years.
The stillbirth and infant mortality rates, which together represent the wastage
of infant lives, were lower than last year but did not quite reach the record figures of
19^9- -to analysis of the causes of the deaths Indicates that there are still a substantial
proportion which should be preventable, and it is clear that the irreducible minimum has
not yet been achieved. It may require some revision of approach to the public health
problems involved before any further advance can be made. There were no maternal deaths
during the year.
The year's experience of infectious diseases was, on the whole, favourable. For
the first time on record, no confirmed cases of diphtheria were notified. For this the
credit is largely due to the sustained immunisation campaign which has for many years now
borne fruit in a saving of children's lives and health. The notifications of tuberculosis
also showed a sharp and long-awaited drop, though whether they will continue to follow the
downward trend of tuberculosis deaths which has been apparent since the end of the war,
still remains to be seen. There was a small increase in poliomyelitis but, fortunately,
no deaths. An unexpected finding was five notifications of typhoid and paratyphoid fevers.
All cases were carefully investigated, all appeared quite unrelated, and no source of
Infection was discovered. There was suggestive evidence, however, that in some cases
infection may have been contracted outside the Borough. These findings do not provide any
reason to anticipate a recrudescence of this type of infection. The fluctuations of the
other infectious diseases were within the ranges which can normally be expected.
This year, at the request of the Ministry of Health, the report on the work done
under the national Health Service Act, 1946, is combined with a survey of the development
of these services since the Act began to operate in 1948. This has resulted in a rather
lengthy account, which contains much of interest, on pages 27 - 68.
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