Health Report
A fall in the number of cases of tuberculosis in Rushden is revealed in the report for 1955 of the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. P. X. Bermingham. He states: “For the first time for many years no deaths occurred from this disease.”

Nene: ‘We Are Not Liable’
Mr. A. H. Bailey told members of Rushden Urban Council at their meeting on Wednesday why the Public Health Committee had decided to take no action on a letter from the Nene River Board, suggesting that the council should discuss the possibilities of a joint sewage disposal scheme with Higham Ferrers.

The committee’s report stated that a letter had been received from the river board, stating that its Fishery and Pollution Prevention Committee felt that the only satisfactory solution to the difficult problems in the area was to be found in a regional sewage disposal scheme.

If all the authorities concerned were not prepared to co-operate, then at least Rushden and Higham Ferrers should discuss the matter further. The board had invited Higham Ferrers to discuss the suggestion for a joint scheme with the board, and if this invitation was accepted it was probable that the Rushden council would be invited to a further meeting.

When Mr. Bailey presented the report, Mr. F. E. Brown said he had been reading reports of the Higham Council meeting on Monday, when one of the members had said that Higham Ferrers was confronted with problems that did not occur anywhere else, and he wondered whether it was this sort of thing which had influenced the committee in coming to its decision.

It was an important matter for the town, and possibly for the district. He wondered whether Mr. Bailey felt that the committee was being wise, or whether in perhaps ten years’ time someone would come along “from higher up” and say that something had got to be done.

Mr. Bailey said that some time ago the board had asked the Ministry for a meeting of all the local authorities in the area, and the committee had objected to the Ministry’s being approached – a feeling in which they were not alone.

He did not want people to think that they were averse to discussing their difficulties with their neighbours from Higham Ferrers, but the committee did feel that they were not responsible for the state of the Nene, that they had taken steps to put their own house in order, and that it would now be wrong to put on to the people of Rushden the cost of a scheme to solve the problems of another authority.

It was reported that the Ministry was willing to issue consent for the raising of a loan for the purchase of the Southfields estate “prefabs,” subject to the condition that the council would agree not to re-sell the structures in situ as houses.

The Housing Committee had authorised the clerk to proceed with the purchase, the transfer to become effective on June 30.

When Mr. C. Freeman, chairman of the Highways Committee, reported that three objections to the proposals for the amendment of parking arrangements in High Street South had been considered, and that a sub-committee was meeting on the site on Friday, Mr. Bailey said he hoped the committee would press on in this matter.

He said that very often it was difficult to have even one-lane traffic there, and they should press on to remove this “death trap.”

Mr. Freeman said it was hoped that when the Little Street improvements were complete, parking arrangements would be safely provided there.

Health Report is Interesting
The population of Rushden in 1957 was 16,670, an increase of ninety over the previous year. The natural increase, which is the number of births compared with deaths for the year, was 71. There were 162 deaths and 233 births, seven of which were illegitimate.

These facts were given in the annual report of the Medical Officer of Health to Rushden Urban Council, Dr. P. X. Bermingham.

Heart and circulatory diseases accounted for 84 of the deaths and cancer caused 34. There were no deaths from pulmonary tuberculosis.

Valuable Service
In a review of health services Dr. Bermingham describes the home help services as being very valuable and often the means of keeping old people in their own homes when they might otherwise have had to go to hospital.

“Rushden must be considered fortunate in having the Rushden Memorial,” he continues. “Here, out-patient clinics are held in many different branches of medicine and it is estimated that approximately 1,400 persons visit in the course of a month.” The Risdene old people’s home, he adds, should be of great benefit to the area and Rushden Senior Citizens’ Goodwill Committee does excellent work for old folk in the area.

Whereas in 1956 there were 340 applicants for council houses, last year there were only 309. Forty council houses were built during the year and forty more were under construction at the end of the year. Private houses built during 1957 numbered 65 and 42 were under construction at the end of the year.

No official representations were made concerning unfit properties during the year but five houses were the subject of closing orders for slum clearance.

Because of staff shortages a number of routine inspections of food premises had to be curtailed, but a full inspection of all animals slaughtered was maintained. “I should like to reiterate my remarks of last year that members of the public should help the milk trade by returning milk bottles after use in a clean state,” he adds.

Mr. H. W. Ellis, senior Public Health Inspector, says in his own report (published together with that of Dr. Bermingham), that more than one ton three cwts. of unsound food was destroyed after 49 visits of inspection to various premises. This included milk, fruit, fish and tinned goods.

Of 1,765 steers slaughtered during the year six were totally condemned because of tuberculosis. One cow, three heifers and one calf were similarly condemned. Other beasts had various parts of the carcases condemned and the total weight of meat and offal condemned was 28 tons.