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To The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the
London Borough of Merton.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to present the first Annual Report on the
health of the London Borough for 1965. The Report shows that the
health of the residents has been good during the year and, generally,
vital statistics compare favourably with those of the country as a
whole. The Registrar-General's estimated mid-1965 home population
of 185,130 shows a decrease of 910 compared with the population
in 1964.
The live births totalled 2,899 giving a live birth rate per 1,000
of the population of 15.66. Of these 2,899 live births, 228 were
illegitimate. The live birth rate for England and Wales for the year
was 18.1.
Deaths from all causes numbered 2,106 giving a death rate per
1,000 of the population of 11.37. The excess of births over deaths was
793.
The reduced population followed a trend which has persisted
over the past ten years. The population of the area in 1955 was
195,970. It will thus be seen that the population of the area has
fallen, since 1955, by 10,840, although in each of the intervening
years there has been an excess of live births over deaths. Throughout
the years since 1955 the live birth rate of the area has been considerably
lower than the national rate, and whilst in 1955 the death
rate of the area was 9.1 compared with the national rate of 11.7 for
England and Wales, over the intervening years the disparity between
the local and the national death rates has narrowed—for 1965
Merton's death rate is 11.37 and that for England and Wales is 11.5.
There would appear to be no indication that this tendency to a
shrinking population may be altered in the near future. In the summary
of the Ten-Year Plan for the Development of Health and Welfare
Services of Local Authorities in England and Wales, the Ministry
of Health shows the projected population of the Borough as 173,600
by 1976, giving a further anticipated reduction of population of
11,530 during the next 11 years.
There was only one case of poliomyelitis during the year. This
was a case which produced partial paralysis of the upper arm and
shoulder of the patient, which was diagnosed in retrospect some weeks
after the onset of the initial symptoms.
One case of typhoid fever occurred during the year. This occurred
in a child returning from a Continental holiday with her
parents. During the incubation period of the disease, the child was
attending a private nursery. An investigation was carried out on the
staff and pupils at this nursery. All the specimens of stools taken
proved to be negative. The child made a satisfactory recovery.
There was a high incidence of measles, which is a normal epidemological
feature every two years.
The demand on the Home Help Service throughout the year
was heavy, and the difficulty of recruiting sufficient Home Helps to
meet all demands to the full, in an area in which women were able
to find many alternative forms of employment, made the task of
allocation of help a matter of careful selection of priorities of need.
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