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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 1961. The report
is drawn up in accordance with the suggestions made by the Minister of
Health in his Circular 1/62. 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 Services for the Area. These services are:—
Nursing in the Home;
Domestic Help Service;
Chiropody;
Care of Mothers and Young Children;
Immunisation and Vaccination;
Ambulance Facilities.
This report is the twenty-fifth for which your Medical Officer of Health
has been responsible and as it coincides with the Corporation's Jubilee
Year, the Report will be extended to include some comparative statistical
data throwing light on the history of the Borough over the past twenty-five
years.
The comparable year which has been chosen is 1937, this being the
year reviewed in his first report by your Medical Officer of Health. In that
report the history of the urban district from the years 1915-1937 was
reviewed, 1937 being the year in which by an order in Council, dated 20th
August, 1937, H.M. King George VI granted a charter to Beddington and
Wallington, which was presented on the 15th September, 1937, by the
Lord Lieutenant of the County of Surrey. It is interesting to note that
if the present Government's plans for the re-organisation of local government
come to full fruition, the Borough will cease to exist as a separate
unit of local government administration in the year 1965. This report
could, therefore, be looked upon as almost completing the history of
Public Health in the Borough of Beddington and Wallington.
The Registrar-General's estimate of the population of Beddington and
Wallington at mid-year 1961 is 32,590 and this figure is used in the compilation
of the vital statistics. The figure shows an increase of 260 compared
with the Registrar-General's estimate for mid-year 1960. The census
of population taken in 1961 was 32,588. The Registrar-General's estimate
of the resident population for 1937 was 30,590, from which it will be seen
that the population has increased over the 25 year period, but not substantially.
It is likely that the population will increase with building
development on the airport and a figure of 45,000 for the population of
the Borough, has been mentioned as one which may eventually be
anticipated.
The live birth rate per 1,000 total population shows an increase at 14.44
in 1961 compared with 13.54 in 1960. This rate is below that for England
and Wales which is 17.40. The birth rate is higher than was recorded for
1937, which was 12.91, although not as high as in the immediate post-war
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