[Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Anglesey County Council.

  • Anglesey (Wales). County Council. no2003102100.
Date:
1966
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1966] / Medical Officer of Health, Anglesey County Council. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    5/100 (page 3)
    To the Members of the Anglesey County Council. Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen, I have the honour to present the Annual Reports of the County Medical Officer of Health, County Welfare Officer and Principal School Medical Officer for the year 1966. This is the first occasion on which the reports have been combined in a single volume. Doing so has reduced production costs and much duplication has been avoided. The mid-year estimate of population rose from 55,460 in 1965 to 55,950 in 1966. The number of births continued to rise to 1,089 (the highest number since 1920), equivalent to a birth rate of 19.5 per 1,000 population in contrast to the national trend which has shown a decline in birth rates for the last two years. The birth rate for England and Wales for 1966 was 17.7 per 1,000 population. The standardized mortality rate in respect of deaths from all causes of persons of all ages, having regard to the sex age structure of the population, as compared to England and Wales, was 12.2 per 1,000 population, a slight decrease compared with 1965 but still showing an excess mortality compared with the national rate of 11.7 per 1,000 population. It is interesting to note that of the total of 734 dea’ths, 543 were due to cancer and diseases of the circulatory system. It is pleasing to record a stillbirth rate of 14 per 1,000 total (live and still) births, the lowest ever recorded in Anglesey. There were 10 less stillbirths than in 1965. This fact, together with a lower than average infant mortality rate for 1966, I feel, highlights my observations in last year’s Report, when these particular statistics were very high, and it was pointed out that 3 or 4 more deaths than usual can produce a disproportionate fluctuation in rates. The fact that we appear to have done well in 1966 in avoiding infant mortalities should not, therefore, lead us into any false sense of security and achievement. In fact, there is still considerable cause for concern Apathy amongst our expectant mothers regarding regular and frequent attendances at ante-natal clinics, whether local authority or general pfnutltlPner’ 1S tife’ A Permanent lowering of infant mortality and stillbirth rates can only be achieved by an enlightened public making full and wise use of the existing facilities for ante-natal care which are I believe amongst the best in the country ; Anglesey Local Authority ante-natal clinics have been staffed by hospital consultants or their deputies for many years. A higher than average number of Anglesey children of the appropriate ages were immunised against Diphtheria, Whooping