[Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Durham County Palatine / County Council.

  • Durham (England : County). Council.
Date:
1960
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1960] / Medical Officer of Health, Durham County Palatine / County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/116 (page 4)
    COUNTY COUNCIL OF DURHAM To the Chairman and Members of the County Council of Durham. Ladies and Gentlemen, I beg to submit my annual report on the health of the administrative county and the work of the County Health Department for the year 1960. The birth-rate and death-rate remain stable. The slight upward trend in infant mortality is mainly due to the increased number of deaths in the first week of life. It is, however, pleasing to note that the maternal mortality rate was the lowest recorded and was very little above the rate for England and Wales. Due to the continuing expansion of the ante-natal work of hospital out-patient departments and general practitioners, the number of expectant mothers using the facilities of the local health authority clinics in I960 was less than half of those attending in 1955. The common infectious diseases call for little comment : for the second successive year there was no case of diphtheria. Poliomyelitis cases (3) and deaths (nil) were the lowest recorded since the disease assumed epidemic proportions. The number of deaths from, and new cases of, respiratory and non-respiratory tuberculosis reached a new low level in 1960. Proposals for the expansion of the mental health service were approved by the Minister of Health during the year and remaining sections of the Mental Health Act, 1959, came into operation on the 1st November. I welcome another opportunity of thanking members of the Health Department staff for their assistance throughout the year, and the Chair- man and Members of the Health Committee for their continued support. I have the honour to be, Ladies and Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, GEORGE WILSON. County Health Department, Shire Hall, Durham. Tel. No. 4411. April, 1962.