[Report 1967] / Medical Officer of Health, Barnsley County Borough.

  • Barnsley (England : Unitary authority). County Borough Council.
Date:
1967
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1967] / Medical Officer of Health, Barnsley County Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    n f FOREWORD “The men with the muck-rakes are often indispensable to the well-being d^^sbeiet^i but only if they know when to stop raking the muck.” At the laying of the Corner-stone of the Office Building of House of Representatives, 14th April, 1906. Theodore Roosevelt, 1858-1919. This report contains little that is new. In the customary manner it provides statistical information relating to the health of the community, an interpretation of this information, records of the work done by the several services and a statement of the professional advice and opinions offered to the authority on certain matters. The statistical information which is contained mainly in the first part of the report is very much the kind of thing which is to be expected of an industrial community of some 76,000 inhabitants. The infant mortality is slightly higher than the National average but not unduly or inexplicably so. The birth rate is lower than the preceding years, again not unexpectedly. Two points merit consideration; the number of deaths from lung cancer and the unexpected fall in the number of illegitimate births. Statistics relating to communicable diseases offer little opportunity for observation. The failure of measles to conform to the traditional two- yearly pattern of incidence—a phenomenon noted previously in Barnsley —is of interest in the effect it will have on the planning of future immunis- ation programmes against this disease. The record of the year’s work in the personal and social services continues to emphasise the value of closer integration between the three parts of the National Health Service in the conservation of that scarce commodity—medical manpower. Consideration of the authority’s personal services suggests that certain aspects of the care of the aged by their own families might with advantage be examined. How much support can the aged expect to receive from their relatives? Does the Fifth Commandment retain any significance or should it be paraphrased “Honour the Welfare State that thy days may be long in the land?” If this is the case, the honouring must necessarily take the form of vastly increased resources being made available for the care of the aged. In view of the publicity recently accorded to the care of the aged in hospitals and institutions, a study of the treatment they receive in their homes at the hands of their own relatives could well be profitable. It would be most helpful in planning the geriatric services if some guidance were to be avail- able as to the amount of co-operation which may reasonably be expected from families. Reference to parts IV and V of the report will show that the year has seen substantial progress in the development of provision for those who suffer from a handicap, whether this be of mind or of body. In the field of environmental hygiene (part Vp the additional powers conferred on the authority to deal with food hygiene are most welcome. They do something to lessen the hazard to health which is inseparable from the sale of unwrapped cooked meat products in the open air. This residual hazard must necessarily remain, however, until a covered food market of modern design is provided.