London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Finsbury 1912
Annual report on the public health of Finsbury for the year 1912
This page requires JavaScript
| Year. | Total Deaths. | Deaths in Public Institutions of Finsbury Residents. | Percentage. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 1.993 | 870 | 43.6 |
| 1904 | 2,084 | 965 | 46.3 |
| 1905 | 1,855 | 886 | 47.8 |
| 1906 | 2,020 | 1.020 | 50.5 |
| 1907 | 1.774 | 911 | 51.3 |
| 1908 | 1.767 | 891 | 50.4 |
| 1909 | I,8l4 | 988 | 54.4 |
| 1910 | 1,636 | 889 | 54.3 |
| 1911 | 1.697 | 946 | 55.7 |
| 1912 | 1,599 | 873 | 54.6 |
The death rate of Finsbury is loaded with the deaths of 4
distinct classes which should possibly be accredited elsewhere:—
1. The deaths of those who are definitely ill when they arrive
in the Borough, and who die of their diseases shortly after. These
are attracted to the district by its facilities for obtaining cheap
food, cheap lodging, medical treatment for nothing, and by the
knowledge that when they finally come under the poor law they
will be received into the infirmary of their choice.
Many consumptives state definitely on enquiry that the chief
reason why they have come into the Borough is that when "they
break down in health they can go into the Highgate Infirmary;
they have tried the lot, and prefer the one for Finsbury."
They get cheap dinners at the Alexandra Trust, medical treatment
for nothing at the very many hospitals and dispensaries in and
near the Borough, and cheap accommodation in the slums, or they
sleep at night on the stairs of the "model buildings" free of