The report of Dr. McArthur, the Medical Officer of the Urban Council for the last quarter of 1923, is, with one or two exceptions, of a fairly satisfactory character.
The birth-rate is again high compared with the figures for the country, being 27.39 per 1000 against 19.4 per 1000 for the great towns of the country, whilst the death-rate for the Urban District was 10.76 per 1000 compared with 11.9 per 1000 for the rest of the country.
Of the deaths, 16 were those of infants under one year of age, and there were 8 more deaths of infants between one and five years of age.
The 16 deaths of babies under one year of age give an infantile mortality rate of 141.6 per 1000 births, which is very much greater than the rate for the two previous quarters, and considerably in excess of the figures for the great towns, viz.: 72 per 1000 births.
During the quarter 22 cases of scarlet fever were notified, affecting all the wards except the Denaby Ward, and of these 21 cases were removed to the Isolation Hospital.
There were 25 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis, and three cases of non-pulmonary tuberculosis notified during the three months; two of the wards, the South and the East, both being exempt from any notification of tuberculosis.