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PREFACE
To the Chairman and Members of the
Carshalton Urban District Council.
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my Report on the health of the
district and on the Services administered under your jurisdiction for
its promotion during the year 1948.
The scope of this survey has been varied to meet the new conditions
created by the National Health Service Act, 194(3. Certain functions,
notably Maternity and Child Welfare and Diphtheria Immunisation,
passed on July 5th to the County Council. The Report with regard
to the first of these covers, therefore, the period from January 1st to
July 4th. As regards Diphtheria Immunisation, you are aware that
the Council agreed with the County Council for your Medical Officer
to continue to direct this scheme after July 5th as he had done
previously, and for that reason I have supplied figures for this service
covering the whole of the calendar year although your statutory
responsibility ceased at mid-year.
The vital statistics for 1948 show that the health of the district
continues the favourable trend to which we have been accustomcd
for so long. Here and there relapses occur, but the general picture is
one of steady improvement. The death-rate, again under 8 per thousand
population, is substantially less than the national figure. Infant
mortality fell to the record low rate of 14.5 per thousand live births.
This is phenomenal and compares with the rate of 34 for the country as
a whole. Equally gratifying to report is the fact that for a further
year, the fourth in succession, there was no maternal death. In these
four years more than four thousand mothers were safely conducted
through childbirth without the loss of a single life.
Among the causes of death, cancer was as prominent as ever, but
1948 shares with its predecessor the lowest mortality from tuberculosis
for twenty years.
Although measles and whooping cough were particularly prevalent
during the year, there were no deaths from either or from the other
common infectious diseases, scarlet fever, enteric fever and diphtheria.
The district is undoubtedly now reaping the benefit of the Council's
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