[Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Jersey.

  • Jersey (Channel Islands). Council.
Date:
1962
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1962] / Medical Officer of Health, Jersey. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    36/90 (page 34)
    Registration of Deaths A stumbling block to essential research into the causes of death in this Island is the fact that no record is made of the home address of the deceased when deaths are registered in Jersey. Further enquiries into such deaths often have to assume a likeness to a detective story and many endeavours are made to find out just where the deceased did live. Jersey is the only part of the British Isles not to record this essential item of information and I hope it will not be long before the appropriate authority brings us into line with Guernsey and the rest of the British Isles. This will also facilitate the transfer to and from the mainland of deaths properly belonging either to the mainland or to Jersey. Fluoridation During 1962 the Ministry of Health published its most favourable report on the success of the fluoridation trials carried out in England and Scotland over the preceding five years. These trials confirmed what has already been recorded by many other trial centres in other parts of the world, especially those in Canada and the U.S.A. The increasing of the level of fluoride in the drinking supply up to that of one part per million is a process that is entirely safe, without any effect on the taste of the water or on its use in industry and of great benefit to the teeth of the younger generation, its benefit being felt right through into adult life. Now that fluoridation has received the whole¬ hearted support of the British Government it is to be hoped that Jersey will not long delay in following suit. Dental decay is at a high level in our young children and, though we now have a most excellent school dental service, it is surely much more logical and more beneficial to prevent disease than to allow it to occur and then have to spend large sums of money in attempting to cure it. Alcohol Reference has already been made that an excess in indulgence in alcohol is contributing to a death rate higher than it should be. An attempt has been made to assess the quantities of alcohol being consumed in the Island and to compare these with figures obtained from the mainland. It has already been known for some years that admissions to hospital and deaths due to the alcoholic diseases are several times higher in Jersey than they are proportionately on the mainland. This is not surprising when it is realised that the availability of alcohol in the form of spirits in the Island is some six times that on the mainland. The actual consumption of spirits per head in the Island is six-and-a-half times per head that on the mainland. Further details of this study are given on Page 43. Again, one cannot regard the figures without pointing out that education and propaganda will do little to cause a reduction in the consumption of spirits and that the most practical approach can only be by reducing its availability i.e. by reducing the number of licensed premises, by reducing the number of hours during which they are permitted to open and by a substantial increase in the retail price. One further measure that could be of great benefit is that the Law controlling the admission of young people to licensed premises should be strictly enforced. To-day, this Law is being defied by many hundreds of teenagers, and events give the impression that some authorities are not prepared to enforce the legislation that already exists. There are some who believe that cheap tobacco and cheap drink are essential to the maintenance of our present prosperous tourist industry. I must beg leave to differ. Jersey’s climate and scenery are its main attractions and these, coupled with really good value in the hotels and guest houses, will always bring the numbers needed. Perhaps the type of person who spends his holiday soaking up alcohol will go elsewhere, but is that a bad thing ? Once we succeed in losing our doubtful reputation of being an alcoholic’s paradise there will be many quieter visitors only too glad to take the place of their noisier counterparts. They may spend their money in different ways, but they will bring gain and not loss to our community. Why should the whole Island have to pay and suffer so that a small minority may profit ? Tuberculosis The number of cases of pulmonary tuberculosis continues to fall and the present level of serious disease is only one-third of what it was ten years ago, and the incidence is still falling. It is now appropriate that the treatment of this disease should be merged with the other duties of the consultant