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
Greenwich 1909
The annual report made to the Council of the Metropolitan Borough of Greenwich for the year 1909
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The following table shows the variation in, and average of, the death rates in each of the five Districts of the Borough in the five years 1904 to 1908, compared with the figures for 1909 :—
| District. | 1904. | 1905. | 1900. | 1907. | 1908. | Average for Five Years. | 1909. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| East Greenwich | 1471 | 12.64 | 12.75 | 12.49 | 12.05 | 12.93 | 11.90 |
| West „ | 15.88 | 14.41 | 14.58 | 14.86 | 13.37 | 14.62 | 13.43 |
| St. Nicholas | 17.94 | 19.53 | 20.06 | 17.02 | 16.53 | 1821 | 17.38 |
| Charlton | 11.56 | 12.64 | 11.97 | 9.43 | 11.96 | 11.51 | 10.69 |
| Kidbrooke | 4.61 | 4.23 | 563 | 3.50 | 3.93 | 4.38 | 4.78 |
| Borough | 14.31 | 13.27 | 13.38 | 12.55 | 12.42 | 13.18 | 12.24 |
It will be seen on comparing the position of the various
Metropolitan Boroughs according to their corrected death rates
as shewn in the table on page 18, that Greenwich holds a very
respectable place indeed in London, having improved to a slight
extent even upon the good position of last year. On that occasion
Greenwich had the lowest death rate but four amongst the 29
Metropolitan Boroughs, whereas during 1909 Greenwich has
improved to the lowest position but three, which can certainly
be considered to be a very favourable position indeed. When
one compares the position which Greenwich holds at this time
with that which it held in the early years of the life of the Borough
a considerable number of lives appear to have been saved,
for during the year 1901 the crude death rate of Greenwich
was 15.31 per 1,000, so that had the death rate during 1909
been the same as that of 1901 there would have been a total of
1,700 lives lost during the year, whereas the actual number
of deaths was 1,354, showing a total saving of 354 lives,