[Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Canterbury Borough / City & County.

  • Canterbury (England). City & County Council.
Date:
1954
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1954] / Medical Officer of Health, Canterbury Borough / City & County. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    14 Dane John, Canterbury. 1955. To the jMayor, Aldermen and Councillors of the City of Canterbury. I have the honour to present my Annual Report covering the year 1954, with which is included the report of the Chief Sanitary Inspector and m\’ report as Principal School Medical Officer. The Health services embodied in the Welfare State have moved on from the stage of enthusiastic development to that of critical review. Following on the rapid advance which has raised the standard of health, of welfare, and of available care for all, or practically all, it is not unexpected that we should now find that the component services are the subjects of critical financial scrutiny. It is therefore appropriate for me to preface the report with a comment on the cost of your local health services. As a guide to this comment the costs from the financial year 1946-47 to the financial year 1954-55 (estimated figure) have been tabulated and shown as a cost per annum per head of the popula- tion, as well as in the form of the rate burden. The indices of retail price advance and advance in general wages level have also been shown for comparison as there is a relationship between these and health service costs. The June 1955 index is 150 for retail prices and 152 for all wages. You will observe that such essential public health services as sewage disposal, refuse collection and disposal, and water supply are not included in these costs. The Local Cost’ of City Health Services Year 1946/ 47* 1947/ 48* 1948/ 49* 1949/ 50 1950/ 51 1951/ 52 1952/ 53 1953/ 54 Esti- mated 1954/55 Population 23,650 24,390 25,370 25,490 27,080 29,640 29,640 29,400 29,600 Net Cost £ Local Health Service 12,059 16,064 12,829 9,657 10,873 10,817 11,921 13,427 14,087 Net Cost £—Other Public Health Service 6,223 6,175 4,168 3,266 3,642 3,985 4,503 4,695 5,143 Total Net Cost £ 18,282 22.239 16,997 12,941 14,515 14,802 16,424 18,122 19,230 Cost per annum per head of the population l5/5id 18/3d 13/4id 9/9id 10/8id 10/- 11/ld 12/4d 13/- Rate Burden l/9d l/ir4d l/6’3d l/2’2d 1/2-Od l/3’2d 1/4’lc' l/4’5d 1/5'2d For Month of June 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 Retail Price Index ... 100 110 111 114 125 138 141 142 Wages Index all Worker ... 100 106 109 no 119 129 135 142 *For all or part of these years Local Health Services include Infectious Disease, Maternal and Child Welfare, Midwifery, Tuberculosis, Venereal Disease, Ambulance Service and Mental Deficiency.