London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Deptford 1919
Annual report on the health of the Metropolitan Borough of Deptford
This page requires JavaScript
The following table gives the number of deaths belonging to each Ward, and the death rates for each Ward.
| Ward. | Deaths. | Death Rate per 1,000. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | Children under | Total | ||
| East Ward | 204 | 142 | 70 | 346 | 15.8 |
| North Ward | 162 | 148 | 45 | 310 | 12.6 |
| North-West Ward | 118 | 111 | 36 | 229 | 9.1 |
| South Ward | 81 | 107 | 22 | 188 | 14.4 |
| South-East Ward | 109 | 92 | 17 | 201 | 17.2 |
| South-West Ward | 116 | 79 | 17 | 195 | 11.5 |
Deaths of residents occurring in outlying public institutions are
allocated to their respective Wards, according to the addresses of the
deceased as received from the Registrar-General's Department.
The proportion which the mortality at various ages bears to the total number of deaths during 1918 and 1919 is as follows:—
| 1918. | 1919. | |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 20.2 per cent. | 19.3 per cent, deaths. |
| 1 to 2 years | 5.8 „ | 5.4 „ „ |
| 2 to 5 „ | 5.1 „ | 4.8 „ „ |
| 5 to 15 „ | 3.6 „ | 4.0 „ „ |
| 15 to 25 „ | 4.6 „ | 4.0 „ „ |
| 25 to 45 „ | 12.1 „ | 13.0 „ „ |
| 45 to 65 „ | 19.4 „ | 21.0 „ „ |
| 65 years and upwards | 29.2 „ | 28.5 „ „ |
Death Registration and Vital Statistics,
It may almost be said that the foundation of efficient public health
work rests upon the accuracy of death registration. To secure that
accuracy we are dependent upon the general practitioner, who. as a rule,
expends a great deal of care upon the certificate of death, which is the
initial step in the process of registration, in spite of the fact that he
receives no payment for the performance of what is a most important
duty on behalf of the State. Indeed, it is common knowledge among
medical officers of health that a death certificate is often much more
carefully filled in than a certificate notifying a case of infectious disease,
although for the latter he receives a statutory fee. A study of the
earliest records of death registration in this country is of considerable
interest, not to say wonderment. The cause of death not infrequently