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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 1958. The report
is drawn up in accordance with the suggestions made by the Minister of
Health in his Circular 22/58. The vital statistics are based on information
supplied by the Registrar-General.
The report includes those services, which are under the control of
the Surrey County Council, the Local Health Authority under the National
Health Service Act, 1946, under the heading of General provision of
Health Service for the Area. These services are:—
Nursing in the Home;
Domestic Help Service;
Care of Mothers and Young Children;
Immunisation and Vaccination;
Ambulance Facilities.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population of Beddington and
Wallington at mid-year 1958 is 32,390, and this figure is used in the
compilation of the vital statistics. The figure shows a decrease of 70
compared with the Registrar-General's estimate for mid-year 1957. The
census of population taken in 1951 was 32,751.
The birth rate per 1,000 total population shows a slight decrease at
12.97 in 1958, as compared with 13.04 in 1957. This rate is below that
for England and Wales, which is 16.40.
The stillbirth rate per 1,000 total births is 31.48, compared with 9.83
in 1957. This is higher than that for England and Wales, which is recorded
as 21.60. The number of children stillborn in the district was 13, out of
a total of 413 births, as compared with 4 in 1957 out of 407 births.
The stillbirth rate of the district showed a considerable increase in
the year under review. It must be remembered, however, that in dealing
with such small statistics, the rate tends to give an exaggerated view of the
increase. The number of children stillborn was 13. In all these cases,
careful maternal care was undertaken, but there still remain some complications,
for which medical science has as yet found no remedy.
The death rate from all causes per 1,000 total population is 9.81,
compared with 10.44 in 1957 and 11.70 for England and Wales. Of the
331 deaths, diseases of the heart accounted for 115 (34.74 per cent of
total deaths), cancer 64 (19.34 per cent of total deaths), and tuberculosis
3 (0.91 per cent of total deaths).
Diseases of the heart and circulatory system in 1958 continued to
account for a very high proportion of total deaths. There were 65 deaths
from coronary disease, as compared with 45 in 1957. The proportion
of these cases, as between males and females, continues to show a large
proportion of males. The older age groups produced a large proportion
of deaths from disease of the heart and circulatory system.
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