[Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough.
- Liskeard (England). Borough Council.
- Date:
- 1953
Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Credit: [Report 1953] / Medical Officer of Health, Liskeard Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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![BOROUGIi OP LISIOSAED THE AIORJAI. RFPQRT of the I'/lEDICiiL OPFIGER OP KE,ai,tH FOR KP] YI^IR 1953. To the Ivliayor, Aldemen and Coiancillors of the Corporation of the Borough of Idskeard, Your V/orship, Ladies ano. Gfentle. ien, Once o-gain the tirae has come roLuid to present /mnual Report, and through it to convey a picture, in a very general \vay, of the health of the community in tha.t part of Cornwall v/hicli goes to malce up Health Area Ro. 7 during the year 1953. I again following the practice of providing a general preface which will he common to all six County District Armual Reports, In it I shall endeavour to set dovn my irpressions as I tend to see them for the greater part of ny time - as an Area Heddcal Officer of Hea.lth to some 53 >000 people in this part of the County, Miere matters peculiar to c-ny one County District arise, comment on thCii will a^ pear in the Body of the Annual Report of that particular district, lly main impression of public health in 1953 is one of little change. There were no marked improvements or advances, hut small ga.ins ’./ere recorded in some directions. Thus the corrected hirth rate for the area v/as fractionally above the national figure at 15.6 per 1000 of population. The corrected death rate of 10.7 per 1000 of population in the Area compares favourably with the national figure of 11.4 per 1000. Although only one iratenial death occurred it w/as sufficient to produce a rate of I.36 per 1000 total biiihs as against the national rate of 0,76 per 1000' total births. The still- binbli and infant m.ortality rates were both lov/er than the correspond¬ ing rates for England and Wales. Sometl.ing of a setback was e^cperienced j.n tuberculosis where the total of cases notified was the highest for at least five years, and was in fact some 3O/0 above the avereige total for the previous five yeans 1948-52, I shall deal with this mntter in .greater detail later in this preface. The estimated raid-1953 population of the Area at 53>276 showed a small decrease as compared v/ith the figures of 53>520 for 1952. Of the individua.1 County Districts which go to malce up the Health area, St. Germans R.D., Liskeard R.j)., Saltash IvLB, and Toipoint U.D. showed small reductions in population whilst I.iskeard lAB, and Looe U.D. showed small increases. In no case v/ere the figures sufficiently great to be of any significance or call for any comaent. The birth rate v/a.s below the national f'igixre of 15.5 per 1000, in St. Geniians R.D., Torpoint U.D,, Liskeard M.B,, and Looe U.D, and above it in Liskeard R.D. and Saltash ILB, The death rate was below/ the national rate of 11.4 per 1000 in all County Districts with the exception of LisleeouxL II.E, where it was 18,6 per 1000. Looking no further than this one might conclude that the Borough of Liskeard w/as not a x^articularly healthy locality. On closer exaj-iiination the real reason for this hig^ death rate soon becomes apparent, and is seen to be directly due to the presence in the towvn of a hospital for aged and chronic sick xjorsons, Laaellion Hospital. Prior to 1953 the deaths of pa.tients in Lamellion Hospital v/ere attributed to the district in v/hich they previously resided. Towvards the end of 1952 the Registran-General decided that in futu.re all persons d^^ung in Lamellion riospital would be regarded as having their place of residence there, and in consequence their deaths would be for statistical](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b29734344_0003.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
