View report page

86
The Parish Infirmary and Workhouse.—1 am indebted
to Mr. H. Percy Potter, Medical Superintendent of the Infirmary,
and Medical Officer to the Workhouse, for the statistics of
mortality at these important institutions, the former being, to
all intents and purposes, as indeed its name implies, a hospital;
it contains over six hundred beds. The deaths registered at these
institutions in 1885 were 355, compared with 273, 307, 322, and
273 in the four previous years, and were equal to 12.8 per cent.
on total deaths. Mr. Potter informs me that the actual deaths in
the year were 366, the quarterly numbers being 104, 91, 74, and
97; so that 201 deaths occurred in the first and fourth (or cold)
quarters, and 165 in the second and third (or warm) quarters.
The deaths of males were 177, and of females 189. The
ages at death were, under one year, 32; between one year
and 60 years, 157; and at 60 years and upwards, 177. The
greatest age at date of death was that of a female, at 93 years.
Three inquests were held: in two cases the deaths were returned
as due to "natural causes:" in the third case death resulted
from "suicidal wound of throat," inflicted before the patient's
admission.