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
Chelsea 1905
Annual report for 1905 of the Medical Officer of Health
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4-year periods—namely, 1893-6, 1897-1900, and 1901-1904—together
with the corresponding rates for the inhabitants of industrial dwellings
in Chelsea, and for the dwellers in eleven of the streets inhabited
by the poorest classes in the district. The industrial dwellings are—
Chelsea Park Dwellings, Guinness' Buildings, Marlborough Buildings,
Onslow Dwellings, and Peabody Buildings, with a total population of
about 2327; and the poor class streets are—Dartrey-road, Francisstreet,
Gillray-square, Ives-street, Little Keppel-street, Oakham-street,
Pond-terrace, Riley-street, Slaidburn-street, Stayton-street, and World's
End-passage and the courts adjacent, with a total population of
about 4130.
| Total Death-rates. | Zymotic Death-rates. | Death-rates from Phthisis and other Tubercular Diseases. | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893-6. | 1897-1900. | 1901-4. | 1905. | 1893-6. | 1897-1900. | 1901-4. | 1905. | 1893-6. | 1897. 1900. | 1901-4. | ||
| *Includes Sir Thomas More Buildings for year 1905. | ||||||||||||
The zymotic diseases are—small-pox, measles, scarlet fever,
diphtheria, whooping-cough, enteric fever, and diarrhoea.
General Death-rates.—The Table shows that whereas the general
death-rate of the inmates of industrial dwellings compares favourably
with that of the population as a whole, the death-rate of the poor
class streets is very much higher than the general death-rate of the
community—1893-6, 76 per cent, in excess; 1897-1900, 82 per cent, in
excess; 1901-4, 58 per cent, in excess.
The fall in the industrial dwellings death-rate in the second period
(1897-1900), as compared with the first (1893-6), is especially noticeable,
amounting as it does to a percentage reduction of 27. The deathrate
of the eleven poor class streets fell but slightly in the second period
as compared with the first, but in the third period there is a notable
reduction of 24 per cent, in the rate as compared with the first period.
The rates for the year 1905 are included in the Table; and
although too much importance should not be attributed to yearly rates
when applied to small populations, still they indicate that the improvement
of recent years is continuing.
Deaths at Special Ages.—The following Table shows the deaths at
ages under 1, 1 to 5, and over 5, in the industrial dwellings and the
poor class streets in each of the three periods.