Administration report of the Public Health Department of the City of Port-of-Spain.

  • Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago). Public Health Department.
Date:
[1945]
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: Administration report of the Public Health Department of the City of Port-of-Spain. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The figures show that these diseases are on the increase, a steady if slow increase in the number of deaths certified being noticeable during the last decade. An interesting feature is the lack of any returns showing deaths from cancer of the lung, a disease which has shewn a great increase in incidence and mortality in temperate climes, particularly the United Kingdom. Deaths from Cancer and Other Malignant Diseases, 1918-46 Period Deaths Rate per 1,000 pop.' Yearly Averages : 1918-22 44.4 0.67 1923-27 45.6 0.71 1928-32 44.6 0.65 1933-37 556.8 0.76 Average 1918-37 ... 47.9 0.70 Year 1938 70 0.83 1939 76 0.84 1940 78 0.85 1941 69 0.71 1942 84 0.85 1943 88 0.86 1944 84 0.81 1945 80 0.75 1946 79 0.78 Cancer and Other Malignant Diseases—Forms, Sites and Deaths Deaths, 1946 Deaths, 1945 rorms ana oites Males Females Males Females Carcinoma : Eye 1 Throat, Larynx, Bronchi ... 2 1 3 1 Mouth, Tongue, Stomach, Oesophagus, Liver, Pancreas, Intestines, Colon, Rectum 18 21 16 14 Breast — 6 1 7 Vulva, Vagina, Uterus, Ovaries — 22 — 28 Urinary Bladder ... ... ... — — 1 2 Prostate, Penis, Testicle 2 — 2 — Site not stated ... — 1 — 1 Sarcoma : Arm 1 — — — Spine 1 — — — Thigh — — — 1 Undefined Malignant Neoplasms : Abdomen — — 1 — Ovaries, Uterus ... — 2 — 1 Leg — 1 — — Site not stated ... — 1 — — Total ... 24 55 24 56 SANITARY ADMINISTRATION Staff The staff of the Public Health Department comprises, at the time I write, of 19 pensionable employees and 98 men on the non-pensionable establishment who, with the Medical Officer of Health, make a total of 118 workers. In addition, because of the acute shortage of Sanitary Inspectors, it has been found necessary to re-employ 5 Sanitary Inspectors who had retired on having reached the age limit and were in receipt of pension. In spite of this there is still a shortage of Sanitary Inspectors ; we are one short of our regular quota of 20 and because of the density of the various sanitary districts and the increase in public health activities which the Inspector has been called upon to undertake it has been found that the districts are too large and will perforce have to be further subdivided with a view to greater efficiency and more concentrated work. All these workers, with the exception of the Chief Clerk, three Sanitary Inspectors, one clerical assistant, one messenger and one office hand who comprise the indoor office staff, are engaged in the various sub-districts of the City. One Sanitary Inspector is in charge of anti-bat and water sampling work and does also some district work when not engaged in these duties. Another Sanitary Inspector does the investigation of infectious diseases which are notified by practitioners and is responsible for all preventive