[Report 1965] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City.

  • Lincoln (England). City Council.
Date:
1965
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1965] / Medical Officer of Health, Lincoln City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/130 (page 2)
    To: The Right Worshipful The Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the City and County Borough of Lincoln. I am pleased to present my Annual Report on the health of the City for the year of 1965. The number of births in Lincoln during 1965 (1354) was slightly less than during the previous year (1414) and there was also a reduction in the number of domiciliary births, 518 compared with 567 in 1964. It will be interesting to observe the trend of these two figures in future years, as the increasing use and increasing sophistication of methods of contraception will no doubt result in a smaller number of births in the next five years than was the case during the past five years. The increasing use of the early discharge scheme for hospital confinements and the greatly increased number of beds which will be available when the new Maternity Unit at The County Hospital has been completed will, no doubt, further reduce tne number ot domiciliary confinements. There were 123 illegitimate births in the City during 1965 and the illegiti¬ mate birth rate of 9.08 per cent of total live births is the highest ever recorded. This compares unfavourably with the national average for illegitimate births in 1965 which was 7.7. The number of still births (13) was markedly reduced in 1965 following the relatively high figure in the previous year (34). Despite a slight reduction in the total number of births, the attendances at the Infant Welfare Clinics during the year were, in fact, a little higher than during the previous year and in view of this, it is regrettable that the majority of the clinics are held in premises which were not designed for the purpose and which in many ways are entirely unsuitable. It is unfortunate that no progress was made in 1965 in the provision of new clinic premises but it is hoped that there will be no further delay in the clinic building programme. The Home Nursing Service continued to have a full staff and few changes occur from year to year. The Night Nursing Service which is financed by the Marie Curie Memorial Foundation was introduced at the end of 1964 and during 1965 proved to be an extremely valuable service, meeting a need which had previously existed in the nursing care at home of seriously ill patients. Incontinence pads for patients being nursed at home are being used increasingly and the free supply is greatly appreciated by patients and relatives. No problem has yet arisen in the disposal of soiled pads. Con¬ sideration may have to be given in the future to the decentralisation of the storage and issue of the pads. The Chiropody Service was extended throughout the year and two full¬ time Chiropodists seem to be quite inadequate for the number of patients who require treatment. Clearly additional staff will need to be appointed in order to give a satisfactory service to the number of elderly persons who require it. There was a somewhat greater incidence of Scarlet Fever in 1965 than for some years and there was some evidence that the virulence of the organism may have become enhanced. Dysentery was again troublesome in the last quarter of the year and unfortunately, the Newland Day Nursery was affected and had to be closed for one week for cleansing. No other infectious disease created any problems and it is gratifying to note that only two cases of