[Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Stevenage U.D.C.

  • Stevenage (England). Urban District Council.
Date:
1910
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1910] / Medical Officer of Health, Stevenage U.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    STEVENAGE URBAN DISTRICT COUNCIL MEDICAL OFFICER’S REPORT FOR THE YEAR 1910. To the Membeys of the Stevenage Urban District Council. Stevenage, Hertb., January 27, 1911. (tent lenien,— For the year 191U, the general healtli ot your <lislrict liab been good. l..abt year I was able to report a very low death rate, namely, U..);!. 'I'liis year, although the rate is somewhat liigher, namely, 13.25, it is below the general jiverage for England. There has been no marked epidemic ot infectious disease, but there have been two mild epidemics of mumps and whooping cough. Under the heading of Schools ” 1 give a full report on the new ( onniy t'ounc.il school for boys. This year there is again a marked decline of deaths among children under the age of one year, tlwing to the climatic conditions of last sum¬ mer, namel.v, absence of sunshine and excessive rainfalls, there was no epidemic of summer rliarrhcea, which usually is the chief cause in prcducing a high infantile mortality. Under theii- proper headings, I will now summarise my report, namel.v ; — THE DE.4TH-RATE. There were 57 deaths notified to me, seven of which occurred at Hitchin. The death-rate per thousand of estimated population for the year lillO is, as before stated, 13.25. For the three previous years the rate was as follows : — 1907. 12.00 ; 1908, 13,25 ; 1909, 9,53, The various ages at which the notified deaths occurred appear as follows: — Under one year, 5 ; between one and five years, 5 ; five and fifteen, 2 ; 15 and 25, 3; 25 and 05, 21 ; 05 and over, 18 ; total, 57, Of the 18 deaths which occurred ovei- the age of 05 years, three were between 05 and 70 ; nine between 70 and 80 ; six between 80 and .40 ; total, 18. The infantile mortality per thousand births registered is 34.10, being a marked decrease from the previous years, namely :—1907, 00.14 ; 1908, 78,47 ; 1909, 55,4. This marked decrease of infantile mortality is most satisfactory, and is due to the cause suggested above namely, an absence of summer diarrhoea and to the supplying ot parents with the cards under the MidwTves Act, 1908, giving the necessary instructions in regard to feed¬ ing, cleanliuess, &c. These cards 1 consider to be most efficacious, especially so in those cases where the infant is artificially ted. Thoro woro foul- deaths in the district due to tubercular disease, three of which were pulmonary tubercular. THE BIRTH-RATE. One hundred and twenty-six births were registered during this year, of which 64 were females and 62 males. This is an increase of 17 on last year, and the figures for the three previous years are given hereunder :—1907, 121 ; 1908, 117 ; 1909, 109. INFECTIOUS DISEASE. 'I’liere were 22 cases notified to me in your district, namel.v ;—Chicken-pox, 10 ; measles, 7 ; erysipelas, 5 ; total, 22. There was no death from infectious diseases and no cases notified to me under the Public Health (Tuberculosis) Reuglations 1908. There was no case of scarlet fever or diphtheria noti¬ fied to me this year. Last year one case of .scarlet fever was notified. ISOLATION HOSPITAL. An inquiry was held by the .Medical Orticcr of Health for the County, Dr F. E. Fremantle, in the Council-room on September 30, 1910, in regard (o the action that you are faking in the matter of providing this district with a suitable isolation hospital. The Hitchin .loint Hospital Hoard has lieen dissolved, and it is now uecessar,\ for this district to make tis own provision for the treatment of infectious cases. The site that you are taking steps to obtain is a most suitable one, and can be connected with the town water supply, and there are no inhabited houses in its immediate neighbour¬ hood. Plans foi- an isolation hospital I hope to submit to you shortly. WATER SUPPLY. The uew reservoir, which was started in September, 19(19, was completed and in use in June, 1910. Its capacitj' is 300,000 gallons, which, with the old supply, gives a total capacity ot 365,000 gallons. No complaints have been received during the last year as regards the condition of the water. The supply has been constant. NUISANCES. There was one case ot marked overcrowding in a cottage in your district, and it was only- after proceedings had been taken that the nuisance was abated. The other nuisances which were reported to me have, in every case, been abated. PREMISES UNDER INSPECTION. With your inspector 1 have visited all the dairies, cowsheds, liakehouses, slaughter¬ houses, &e. All workshops have been period¬ ically inspected by us and found in good sanitary condition and conforming with the regulations of the Factory Act, 1901. A new cowshed at Fairlauds farm has been added to our list. The leaflets published by the Pure Milk Society have been adopted in this district. SCHOOLS. The County Council school for boys in Letch- more Green-road referred to in my last report has been in use for the greater part of the year. There are certain slight defects as regards sanitation and lavatory accommoda¬ tion to which 1 have already drawn the atten¬ tion of the Medical Officer of Health lor the county. It is to be regretted that when the new school was built no suitable room was provided for the medical inspection of school children. The (,'hurch of England schools on the Bury-mead are now used only for girls and infants. During this last year it was not necessary to close either of the schools. SEWAGE FARM, &C. As in my last year’s and previous reports, 1 would again point out the desirability of an efficient storm water drainage system. The working of the sewage farm during the past year has been most satisfactory. The usual statistics are appended, I am. Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, PETER R. TARBET, Medical Officer of Health.