Health Committee's report / City of Melbourne.

  • Melbourne (Vic.). Health Committee.
Date:
[1946]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Health Committee's report / City of Melbourne. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    4/32 (page 4)
    REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH Health Department, Town Hall Chambers, Melbourne. 21st April, 1947. The Chairman and Members, Health Committee. Gentlemen, I beg to present my report for the year 1946. The health of the community, as judged by the usual standards and statistical data, has again been good. The prevalence of infectious diseases was unusually low and there were no epidemic outbreaks. Reports from overseas indicate that in spite of the continuance of famine or near famine conditions in parts of Europe, there have been no alarming epidemics there or in ai y other parts of the globe. From the point of view of infectious diseases control, it is indeed to be hoped that peaceable administration will continue to be possible, both in Europe and in other parts of the world. Modern understanding and methods of control of infectious disease have develop¬ ed to the extent that most infectious diseases are now, to a large extent, controllable provided that peaceful conditions and the co-operation of governments are ensured; though this is probably not yet true of certain infectious agents such as that responsible for the great pandemic in¬ fluenza of 1918-1919. Further progress is reported in the development and methods of use of substances such as the sulpha drugs and penicillin, which can already be credited with the saving of innumerable sufferers from various infections. It is frequently said that the main task now confronting preventive medicine is to combat the diseases of advanced years and of old age, particularly those of the heart and blood vessels and the various forms of cancer. These are main causes of death in ageing people, and it is natural that the death-rates therefrom, calculated per thousand of the living, are steadily ris¬ ing. An increasing amount of research work is being diverted to these conditions, and no one will question the desirability of extending the period of useful and active life among the older and presumably wiser members of the community. Of greater importance, however, is the need for more extensive and deliberate efforts to improve what may be called the mental hygiene of the whole community. It is generally agreed that there exists a vast amount of ill-health at all ages, which has a mental rather than a physical basis. It is not mental disease, as ordinarily understood, it is a manifestation of unhappiness—of boredom and frustration, of fears, stresses, anxieties and conflicts in the mind of the individual. These mental states are of great importance in themselves, since obviously no one who is unhappy is well. Undoubtedly, also, they give rise to or are accompanied by dis¬ turbances of the physical mechanisms of the body, and the victims are recognised as suffering from physical disorders of many kinds, particularly disturbances of the digestive and circulatory systems, and various forms of rheumatism. The prevention of this vast burden of ill-health is certainly not a task for medicine alone or as such. It lies rather in the fields of psychology and of education, and particularly in that sphere of child welfare where the objectives of health ar.d education are fused or are not to be separated. The problem of western civilisation is in¬ deed that of developing the art of living, and the emphasis must be shifted from the doctor, hos¬ pital and research institute to the teacher, the psychologist, the kindergarten and the school. Great improvements in the general health of the community will gradually but certainly follow an honest attempt to make the most, not only of the bodies, but of the minds of all our children. Our schools must be built, staffed and equipped to turn out citizens who look forward happily to exercising their fully developed creative talents in co-operation with their fellows. VITAL STATISTICS The figures for the last ten years and of the averages for the five-year period 1931-1935, as supplied by the Government Statist, are shown in Table I. TABLE I. Infantile Year Estimated Mean Population No. of Births Birth Rate No. of Deaths Death Rate Mortality Rate per live Births 1931-35 (5 year average) . 93,436 1131 12.2 1096 11.8 51.7 1936 . . 92,850 1131 12.5 1147 12.7 53.9 1937 . . 92,850 1176 13.0 1104 12.2 41.7 1938 . . 92,900 1156 12.8 1135 12.6 39.8 1939 . . 93,200 1105 12.2 1208 13.4 36.2 1940 . . 93,650 1257 13.7 1210 13.3 54.1 1941 . . 95,400 1303 14.2 1186 12.9 36.8 1942 . .. 95,500 1499 16.1 1283 13.0 44.0 1943 . . 99,393 1804 18.1 1226 12.3 43.8 1944 . . 100,485 1655 16.5 1237 12.2 32.0 1945 . 101,130 1709 16.9 1225 12.1 26.3 1946 . . 105,300 2033 19.8 1177 11.5 23.1