London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
London County Council 1908
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for London County Council]
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| Sanitary area. | Staff engaged in visiting homes where births have recently occurred. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Female sanitary Inspectors. | Health visitors. | Whether voluntary health visitors are employed. | |
| St. Marylebone | 2 (and 1 temporary) | - | Health Society |
| Hampstead | 2 | - | Health Society |
| St. Pancras | 1 | - | Yes |
| Islington | - | - | - |
| Stoke Newington | - | 1 | Yes |
| Hackney | - | - | Yes |
| Holborn | 1 | - | - |
| Finsbury | 1 | 2 | - |
| London, City of | 1 | - | - |
| Shoreditch | - | 1 | - |
| Bethnal Green | - | Appointment under consideration. | - |
| Stepney | - | 1 to be appointed | Yes |
| Poplar | - | 1 | Yes |
| Southwark | 3 | - | Health Society |
| Bermondsey | - | 1 | Yes |
| Lambeth | - | 1 (temporary) | - |
| Battersea | 2 (1 part time) | 1 (part time) | Yes |
| Wandsworth | 2 | - | Yes |
| Camberwell | - | - | - |
| Deptford | - | - | - |
| Greenwich | - | Yes | Yes |
| Lewisham | 2 | - | - |
| Woolwich | 1 | - | - |
Principal Epidemic Diseases.
The number of deaths in the Administrative County of London from the principal epidemic
diseases, viz., smallpox, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, whooping-cough, typhus, enteric fever,
pyrexia1 and diarrhœa during 1908 (53 weeks) was 6,599, giving an annual death-rate of 1.35 per 1,000
persons living.
The death-rates in successive periods have been as follows:—
| Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. | Period. | Death-rate per 1,000 persons living. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1841-50 | 5.20 | 1902 | 2.212 |
| 1851-60 | 5.13 | 1903 | 1.762 |
| 1861-70 | 5.23 | 1904 | 2.142 |
| 1871-80 | 3.86 | 1905 | 1.692 |
| 1881-90 | 3.02 | 1906 | 1.922 |
| 1891-1900 | 2.662 | 1907 | 1.422 |
| 1901 | 2.232 | 1908 | 1.352 |
It will be seen from the following table that in the decennium 1898-1907, London had a
lower death-rate from these diseases than any of the undermentioned English towns, except Bristol,
Bradford and Newcastle-on-Tyne, and in 1908 had a lower death-rate than any, except Bristol,
Newcastle-on-Tyne and Nottingham.
| Town. | 1898-1907. | 1908. | Town. | 1898-1907. | 1908. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Ham | 3.30 | 2.39 | |||
| Liverpool | 3.18 | 2.19 | Bradford | 1.76 | 1.36 |
| Manchester | 2.87 | 2.25 | Newcastle-on-Tyne | 1.88 | 1.26 |
| Birmingham | 2.64 | 1.86 | Hull | 2.82 | 2.19 |
| Leeds | 2.35 | 1.49 | Nottingham | 2.39 | 1.25 |
| Sheffield | 3.22 | 1.85 | Salford | 3.47 | 3.04 |
| Bristol | 1.76 | 1.16 | Leicester | 2.31 | 1.53 |
1 Origin uncertain. Originally described as simple continued fever.
2 See footnote (1), page 8.