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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 have the honour to present my annual report for 1956. The report is
drawn up in accordance with the suggestions made by the Minister of
Health in his Circular 19/56. The vital statistics are based on information
supplied by the Registrar-General.
The presentation follows that adopted since 1948, and those services
which are under the control of the Surrey County Council, the Local
Health Authority under the National Health Service Act, 1946, are
reported upon in a brief statistical statement appended to the report. The
services dealt with in this addendum are:—
Care of Mothers and Young Children;
Health Visiting;
Home Nursing;
Vaccination and Immunisation;
Ambulance Services;
Prevention of Illness, Care and After-care; and Home Help.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population of Beddington and
Wallington at mid-year 1956 is 32,540, and this figure is used in the
compilation of the vital statistics. The figure shows an increase of 10
compared with the Registrar-General's estimate for mid-year 1955. The
census of population taken in 1951 was 32,751.
The birth rate per 1,000 total population shows an increase at 12.12
in 1956, as compared with 11.89 in 1955. This rate is below that for
England and Wales, which is 15.7
The stillbirth rate per 1,000 total births is 15.87, compared with 21.45
in 1955. This is lower than that for England and Wales, which is recorded
as 23.0. The number of children stillborn in the district was 6, which is
2 less than the number recorded in 1955, out of a total of 378 births, as
compared with 373 in 1955.
The death rate from all causes per 1,000 total population is 10.52,
compared with 8.81 in 1955, and 11.70 for England and Wales. Of the
353 deaths, diseases of the heart and circulatory system accounted for
122 (34.56 per cent of total deaths), cancer 77 (21.82 per cent of total
deaths), and tuberculosis 3 (0.85 per cent of total deaths).
The death rate is higher than in 1955, which was one of the lowest
rates recorded for this district. The tables on pages 14 and 15 indicate
the comparative rates and causes of death. From these tables it will be
seen that deaths from cancer are higher than in 1955. The situation of the
cancers, however, has shown a slight decrease in cancer of the lung, but
an increase of cancer in females, that is, of the breast and uterus.
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