[Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Pontypool R.D.C.

  • Pontypool (Wales). Rural District Council.
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Pontypool R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1964, ovto]o«a- t.Hm'on vrcro fiB+abli.Phod in various parts of Monmouthshire (e.g. _ CroesyceilioJS. So that cancer of the cervix can he detected in women in their pre-cancerous stage. When such clinics are generally available it will be possible to prevent the 2,800 deaths caused by this disease each year in Britain. this will be a great achievement. It may soon be possible to apply similar methods o detect pre-malignant conditions in other parts of the body e.g. examination of theurine to determine the presence or absence of cancer of the bladder. Meanwhile, health education will continue to play a vital part in.the prevention of cancer but although the association between lung cancer and cigarette-smoking is now almost universally accepted, it is not so easy to persuade the habitual smoker to throw away his cigarettes. The standards of acceptable health have naturally risen along with medical, progress and with improved living standards the community has became more, concerned with less serious diseases. An example of this.is the increasing awareness by the community of the need to care for the Nation's feet. A few chiropody clinics are already functioning in the county and we have every hope that in 1965 the service will be extended to cover Pontypool Rural District. Chiropody gives much relief to the elderly but for them it can only be a repair operation for the damage dons in Youth. Medical Officers of Health have been and are well aware of the problem of ill-fitting shoes but the dictates of fashion, so far, reign supreme. Chiropody within the school health service should be encouraged but this is impossible so long as chiropodrs s are in short supply. Mortality statistics, as shown in this report, serve to illustrate the increasing challenge of geriatrics. At the same time, we must not forget that although infant mortality has been reduced to a very satisfactory low level, the peri-natal mortality rate shows little real improvement. ihe number of still-births and of deaths under one week shows a marked regional variation, is influenced by maternal age and parity, previous obstetric history and social class. A scheme has now been introduced for the notification of congenital abnormalities to local medical officers of health so that a centra statistical record may be compiled. Peri-natal mortality in Pontypool Rural Distrj-ct_,_2359.. Year 1964 1963 1962 1961 I960 1959 Number of First Week Deaths 4 2 2 4 4 3 Number of Still-births 3 7 4 1 5 7 Peri-natal Mortality Rate 26.5 30.12 17.7 25.79 29.4 33.9 Peri-natal Mortality, (1959 -__19_64) Pontypool Rural District, Abergavenny Rural District, Monmouthshire County Year -a Pontypool Rural District 1964 26.5 1963 30.12 1962 17.7 1961 25.79 I960 29.4 1959 33.9 Abergavenny Rural District 28.6 4,2.55 28.99 56.7 32.0 Monmouthshire County 37.25 35.82 38.85 39.9 42.0 47.7 -2-