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To the Chairman of the Southall-Norwood Council.
Sir,
I have pleasure in presenting my annual report upon the
health of the district for 1920. In accordance with your wish, I
have written briefly and excluded recurring details in order to reduce
cost of printing. The statistics for the year are in all respects
satisfactory. The gross death-rate is only 8.2 per 1,000, which is
* well below the average for recent years and is an unusually low one
for a working-class population. The death-rates from the various
specified diseases are less than for last year, except that from
cancer, which has increased of late years.
The most satisfactory feature of the statistics is the low rate
of infant mortality, 66.8 per 1,000 births, the lowest ever recorded
for the district. It compares with 68.8 for last year, when the
climatic conditions were exceptionally favourable for infant health,
and the birth-rate was much lower. I am confident that the
continued lowering of infant mortality during the last few years is
largely due to the preventive work at the Welfare Centre and in
the homes by the Health Visitors.
In conclusion I beg to express my grateful appreciation of the
support and assistance I have received from the members of the
Council in carrying out the various measures I have had to ask
them to adopt to cope with the unusual prevalence of notifiable
illness during the year. I take the opportunity of thanking the
members of the Public Health and Hospital staffs for their loyal
co-operation and consistent good work under circumstances of
unusual stress.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
J. D. WINDLE,
Medical Officer of Health.
April 29th, 1921.