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
Finsbury 1908
Report on the public health of Finsbury 1908 including annual report on factories and workshops
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common amongst the poor who have to live under unhealthy conditions—in
overcrowded rooms which are stuffy and ill-ventilated, feeding
badly and working at occupations which expose them to inclement
weather and fatigue—is well known. A great part of the population
of Finsbury being of this class, it cannot be wondered at that there
are so many deaths from consumption year after year.
The following extract from a letter sent by Dr. MacLearn, the
Medical Superintendent of the Holborn Infirmary, Archway Road, N.,
may be quoted:—"On this date—6th January, 1909—there are under
treatment in the Holborn Infirmary, Archway Road, N., 158 cases
of Pulmonary Tuberculosis (Phthisis); of these cases, 84 men and 19
women belong to Finsbury. During the past year—1908—120 deaths
due to Phthisis, occurred in this Infirmary; of these deaths, 81 were
of Finsbury patients."
The number of deaths from consumption occurring in Institutions year by year since 1901 is shown below: —
PHTHISIS DEATHS IN INSTITUTIONS.
| Total Number of Phthisis Deaths. | Phthisis Deaths in Holborn Union Infirmary. | In other Institutions. | Total in Institutions. | Percentage of Deaths in Institutions. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1901 | 216 | 82 | 39 | 121 | 56.0 |
| 1902 | 240 | 88 | 20 | 108 | 45.0 |
| 1903 | 223 | 97 | 20 | 117 | 52.5 |
| 1904 | 251 | 113 | 27 | 14O | 55.7 |
| 1905 | 215 | 97 | 31 | 128 | 59.3 |
| 1906 | 232 | 85 | 58 | 143 | 61.6 |
| 1907 | 243 | 108 | 51 | 159 | 65.4 |
| 1908 | 221 | 81 | 50 | 131 | 59.3 |
The following table contains the death rates per 10,000 of the
population at each of certain age periods:—