[Report 1940] / Medical Officer of Health, Burgess Hill U.D.C.

  • Burgess Hill (England). Urban District Council. nb2010028436.
Date:
1940
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1940] / Medical Officer of Health, Burgess Hill U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    LIBRARY URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL OF BURGESS HILL. REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH, To the Chairman and Members of the Burgess Hill Urban Council. I have the honour to submit my. Annual Report for the l year 1940. The Minister of Health has requested that interim reports only should be submitted for the year 1940, and should be confined to essential matters which have affected the public health during the year. This procedure has, therefore, been adopted. The delay in sending out this Report is due to the late receipt of the statistics from the Registrar General. The Crude Death Rate is 13.68 and this figure when adjusted gives a Corrected Death Rate of 11.08 as compared with IO.96 for the previous year and with 14.3 f°r England and Wales. The Infantile Mortality Rate is 65.5 which is higher than for the country as a whole. No deaths occurred from Typhoid Fever, Scarlet Fever, Diphtheria, Measles or Whooping Cough. DIPHTHERIA IMMUNISATION. In my Annual Report for 1939 1 reported that 90 per cent of the child population, one to 15 years of age, had been immunised. During the year 1940 every effort was made to induce parents who had not accepted immunisation for their children to agree to the procedure, and, 35& children were immunised under the Council's scheme. Parents have the choice of taking their children to their : + * y ■ • W • • own doctor or they can be immunised by Dr. Duke, Assistant Medical Officer, at the Schools or at specially arranged Clinics. Every parent on the child's first birthday receives a letter from myself pointing out how necessary it is for every child to be immunised and this is followed up by a visit from the District Nurse. In certain cases where the parent still refuses, visits are paid by Dr. Duke or myself and it has been found that this procedure gives good results. Where the parent has difficulty in attending the Clinic the inoculations are carried out in the homes.