[Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City.

  • Lincoln (England). City Council.
Date:
1953
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/48 (page 3)
    To : His Worship the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the City and County Borough of Lincoln. City Health Department, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln. November, 1954. Mr. Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors, This report deals with the health of the City during 1953. Although I have the honour to present this report, Dr. Bery was in charge during the whole period under review and to him should be accorded the credit for the progress detailed in the body of the report. I am sure that it would be in keeping with the wishes of everyone that I record a brief note on his service to the City. (He retired on 31st March, 1954). Dr. Bery was first appointed in 1918 as Resident Medical Officer of the City Hospital and Sanatorium. Subsequently he served as Deputy Medical Officer of Health until he was appointed Medical Officer of Health in 1931. Dr. Bery spent practically the whole of his professional life in the service of the City Health Department. Reference to past Medical Officer’s of Health reports indicate the progress in the general health of the citizens of Lincoln from the time Dr. Bery assumed office in 1931 to the present year. The Infant Mortality Rate, regarded as a useful pointer to public health progress, fell from 59 per 1,000 births in 1931 to 35 per 1,000 births in 1953, while the population rose from 65,000 to 70,000. Dr. Bery was always an advocate of fresh air and sunlight as a material factor in the health of the people, and children in particular— it must have given him satisfaction to note the growth of the number of inhabited houses in the City from 17,300 in 1931 to 20,359 in 1953. Public Health does not hold the drama of curative medicine and never assumes headlines until something goes wrong. The routine work of the Health Department went steadily on during the years under Dr. Bery’s guidance and he was a leader respected by all his colleagues in the City Health Department, who valued his friendly cheerful personality and wise counsel. The Medical Officer of Health is also Principal School Medical Officer and, although the staff of the School Health Department is separate from the Health Department generally, co-operation was maintained by virtue of the dual office.