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Public Health Department.
Town Hall,
Wallington.
To His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Borough of Beddington and Wallington.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I submit my report for the year ending 31st December, 1939.
The year under review covers nine months of peace (up to 3rd
September) and three months of war.
The outbreak of war was followed by the evacuation of many
families from the Borough, and while the general statistics for this
year are not seriously affected, we may look in future reports for a
striking fall in the statistical returns of the Maternity and Child
Welfare section.
Up to the close of the year, the war had not really gripped the
imagination of the general public to make comment on changing
aspects of life worth while.
Departmentally, however, the mobilisation and organisation of
an entirely new Service, the Casualty Service, under the direct control
of the Medical Officer of Health, threw an enormous strain on the
resources of the entire staff.
The Public Health record for the year is good. No epidemics are
to be noted, and there was no outstanding event affecting the general
health of the community. The Birth Rate has been maintained at
the satisfactory level of 12.63 per 1,000, while the Death Rate at 9.38
is quite low for a district having so many inhabitants who have passed
middle age.
The Infantile Mortality Rate is also low at 40.30 per 1,000 live
births, and compares very favourably with the rate of 50, which is
that of the Country as a whole.
No deaths associated directly or indirectly with child-birth were
recorded during the year. This is a notable achievement for the
Maternity and Child Welfare Service.
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