London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Southwark 1894

Annual report for 1894 of the Medical Officer of Health

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5
Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health—1894.

Table II.

Number of Births.Birth-rate per 1,000.
1893.1894.1893.1894.
Borough Road60462936.137.3
London Road68980432.437.6
Kent Road82863837.628.5
Whole Parish2,1212,07135.334.4
London132,965130,56330.930.1
33 large English Towns328,342320,49731.930.9

It will be seen that although the birth-rate is one lower than that of the
preceding year, it is nevertheless considerably above that for the whole of
London. The diminished rate of increase of population in the three sub-districts of
the Parish of St. George's is, therefore, not attributable to a falling off in the
number of persons born into the parish, but rather to a relatively high death-rate. A
reference to the section on the mortality of infants and children will reveal the startling
fact that more than one half of the total deaths in St. George's, Southwark, takes
place under five years of age.
The fact is notable that the birth-rate in St. George's is higher than in London
and in the thirty-three large English towns. This may, I think, be explained by the
fact that limitation of families is carried into effect by the better to do classes rather
than by the poor.
Deaths and Death-Rate for 1894.
1,398 deaths were registered in the parish during the fifty-two weeks ending
December 31st, 1894, giving an average of 26 per week. Of this total 115 were
deaths of non-parishioners in hospitals and asylums within the district; 152 of
parishioners who died in outside public institutions and extra-metropolitan asylums.
There were, therefore, 1,435 deaths among your parishioner*, equivalent to an average
mortality of 23 9 per 1,030. The death-rate for all London in the same year was
17.7 per 1,000, which is in itself, according to many authorities 1. more per 1,000
than should occur from "the mortality incident to human nature." In St. George's,
then, the "death-toll," as it has been aptly called, claims 6.32 persons out; of every
1,000 in excess of an already excessive rate. On the latter estimate there have been
no less than 372 unnecessary deaths in St. George's, Southwark, during the year 1894.
In the forty-three metropolitan sanitary areas the lowest death-rates were 9.8 in
Stoke Newington, 10.6 in Hampstead, 12.4 in Wandsworth and in Lee, 12.5 in
Plumstead, 138 in Lewisham (excluding Penge), and 14.5 in St. George's, Hanover
Square; in the other districts the rates ranged upwards to 23.5 in St. Luke's, 23.9 in
St. George's, Southwark, 24.7 in Limehouse, and 26.4 in St. George's in the Bast