[Report 1952] / Medical Officer of Health, Monmouthshire County Council.

  • Monmouthshire (Wales). County Council.
Date:
1952
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1952] / Medical Officer of Health, Monmouthshire County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/82
    PREFACE. To the Chairman and Members of the Health Committee : Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour of presenting my Annual Report upon the Health of the County of Monmouth for the year 1952. The health conditions of the County during the year have been generally [satisfactory, and there have not been any serious epidemics of infectious diseases. There was however a slight increase in the incidence of acute poliomyelitis. The live birth rate per 1,000 population showed an increase of 07 on the previous year, the rate being 17 2 as compared with 16 5. The general death rate, at 11-5 per 1,000, was 188 lower than for 1951, when it was 13 38. Infantile mortality in the County improved from 42 9 per 1,000 births to 33 9. With regard to Tuberculosis the notification rates of both respiratory and non-respiratory diseases are lower than for 1951, and it is very pleasing to note that the death rates for both types of the disease are lower than for any time since at least 1938. Broadly speaking the work of the Regional Hospital Board and of the Local Health Authority abut upon such problems as infectious diseases, chronic sick, tuberculosis, mental health, maternity, school medical service and discharge of acute surgical and medical cases from hospital. The settlement of these problems has not been unsatisfactory, witb the exception of Chronic Sick. No difficulty has arisen with regard to infectious diseases. With regard to Tuberculosis, both the Chest Physicians and the Mobile X-ray Units have been very helpful, but there are definite differences of opinion which cannot be settled within the existing machinery. The in- adequate hospitalisation of the chronically infected Tuberculosis cases is one, and the desirability of Chest Physicians having a sessional agreement with the Local Health Authority to visit special tuberculosis cases in their homes ai d to participate in Clinics for the follow-up of positive and negative re- actors is another. In Mental Health, the hospital service is within reach of meeting all the requirements of the Local Authority as regards Mental Defectives, but this is only because the Local Health Authority has diminished the demand on hospital beds by providing for Mental Defectives, Day Handi- craft Centres, Domiciliary Handicraft Teaching and Boarding-out defectives for holiday purposes. The Specialist services for school-children can be considered as satisfac- tory , provided no alteration is made in the existing arrangements by the tiansfer of Clinics to Hospital Out-Patients or the cutting-down of Specialist Sessions in Local Health Authority Clinics.