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PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
TOWN HALL, HACKNEY, E. 8.
July, 1955
To His Worship the Mayor and to the Aldermen and
Councillors of the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney.
Mr. Mayor, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have the honour to submit my annual report on the health and sanitary
circumstances of Hackney for the year 1954. This Report is the ninety-ninth
in the series submitted by Medical Officers of Health to the Hackney Board of
Works and to the Hackney Borough Council, and is the third which it is my
privilege to present
The Registrar General's estimated mid-year population of the borough is
168,600 persons: this is a reduction of some 2,742 persons on the actual population
ascertained at the census enumeration in 1951. The number of deaths
from all causes was 1,715 (1,729 in the previous year) giving a crude death
rate of 10.17. The number of live births was 2,394, a rate of 14.20 per 1,000
of the population or a rate of 12,92 after applying the "area comparability
factor" of 0.91 The death rate of infants under one year of age was 19.21 as
compared with rates of 20.68 for the County of London and 25.50 for England and
Wales, There were two deaths of women from causes associated with pregnancy or
childbirth. Malignant disease claimed 384 lives as compared with 344 in the
previous year; 86 of these deaths were due to malignant disease of the lung and
bronchus, a rate for these sites of 0.51 per thousand population, as compared
with rates of 0.37 for England and Wales and 0.54 for London.
The incidence of serious infectious disease was again low. Of the total
of 1,769 cases notified, measles accounted for 799 cases, dysentery for 340,
whooping cough for 220, scarlet fever for 130 and puerperal pyrexia for 125.
The seven cases of poliomyelitis were sporadic in occurrence and four were of
the paralytic type and three non-paralytic, Of the eight deaths from infectious
disease one was due to infective encephalitis, two to meningococcal
infection and five to acute primary pneumonia. Primary notifications of
tuberculosis numbered 152 as compared with 184 in 1953. The 35 deaths from all
forms of the disease, an increase of 11 on the previous year, give a death rate
of 0.21 per thousand of the population, and the comparable rates for London and
England and Wales are 0.20 and 0.18 respectively,,
A considerable portion of the time of the sanitary inspection staff was
devoted to the inspection of food and all types of food premises. I am pleased
to report that the standard of hygiene continues to improve, and in this connection
the co-operation of persons engaged in the distribution and sale of
food is a very welcome factor. The Pood and Drugs Amendment Act, 1954 received
Royal Assent during the year and will come into operation on a date to be
appointed by order of the Minister. This Act, amongst other things, makes
provisions for new food hygiene regulations and "codes of practice". A Pood
and Drugs Bill now before Parliament seeks to consolidate all existing food
legislation,
The Housing Repairs and Rents Act, 1954 came into operation on August
30th. The results of the operation of this new Housing Act were looked forward
to with much interest but from the experience gained during eleven months'
working of the Act one is forced to the conclusion that, to date at all events,
the results obtained have not come up to expectation, The work involved in
the issue and revocation of certificates of disrepair has been very considerable
but one is doubtful whether the benefits to the tenant, the local authority
and the landlord have been in proportion to the effort involved. In connection
with the issue of certificates of disrepair it was thought fit in all cases to