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Public Health Department,
Town Hall,
Wallington.
To the Worshipful the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the Borough
of Beddington and Wallington.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I beg to present my annual report for 1947. The report is drawn up
in accordance with the suggestions made by the Minister of Health in his
Circular 170/47. The vital statistics are based on information supplied
by the Registrar-General; this was received in mid-June, 1948.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population of the Borough
at the middle of the year is 32,400, but from information available from
local sources (e.g. the Food Control Office) the population at the end of
1947 exceeded 34,000.
The birth rate per 1,000 total population shows a decrease at 16.91
in 1947, as compared with 18.63 in 1946, and is below that for England
and Wales, which is 20.5. The stillbirth rate of 0.49 per 1,000 total
population is considerably higher than the figure of 0.29 for 1946, but
compares favourably with that for England and Wales, which is 0.50.
The stillbirth rate per 1,000 total births is 28.37 compared with 15.13 in
1946.
The death rate from all causes per 1,000 total population is 10.56,
compared with 10.39 for 1946 and 12.00 for England and Wales. Of the
342 deaths, disease of the heart and circulatory system accounted for 105
(30.7 per cent. of total deaths), cancer 51 (14.9 per cent. of total deaths)
and tuberculosis 10 (2.9 per cent. of total deaths).
The maternal mortality rate per 1,000 total births is Nil, as compared
with 1.17 for England and Wales.
The Corporation will no doubt view with satisfaction the record of
maternal health as shown by the previous paragraph. No maternal
deaths, that is deaths during pregnancy from puerperal sepsis or other
maternal causes, were recorded during the year.
The birth rate, however, is noted to have decreased, and although that
for England and Wales shows an increase, it cannot but be anticipated
that this is temporary and that the birth rate for the country as a whole
will show a marked decline in the next two or three years. Arrangements
for confinements, especially in institutions, continue to present some
difficulty. Domiciliary confinements, especially in the generally overcrowded
conditions which persist, are not easy, and continue to be
more expensive than institutional deliveries.
Admission to an institution for confinement is still dependent on the
medical condition of the mother or adverse home circumstances, such as
overcrowding or undesirable premises. The lot of pregnant women,
and especially women faced with a domiciliary confinement, is hard
indeed, and one cannot pretend that any of our present national or local
schemes make it easy for a mother to have her baby at home.
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