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
Camberwell 1933
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.
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5
Social Conditions of Camberwell, including the Chief
Industries carried on in the Area.
Camberwell is a district in South-east London; 4¾ miles from
west to east, about 2½ miles from north to south, and 4,480 acres in
area.
The manufacture of gas, and its associated products, is the
outstanding industry in the district. Other industries are miscellaneous
in character, viz., motor and general engineering,
laundries, timber yards, etc.
Extracts from Vital Statistics.
| Total. | M. | F. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live Births | Legitimate | 3,148 | 1,589 | 1,559 |
| Illegitimate | 99 | 52 | 47 | |
| Birth rate per 1,000 of the estimated resident population | ... | ... | 13.32 | |
| Still Births | ... | ... | 106 | |
| Rate per 1,000 total (live and still) births | ... | ... | 13.75 | |
| Deaths | ... | ... | 3,005 | |
| Death rate per 1,000 of the estimated resident population | ... | ... | 12.33 | |
Deaths from puerperal causes:—
| Deaths. | Rate per 1,000 total (live and still-births) births. | |
|---|---|---|
| Puerperal Sepsis | 6 | 1.79 |
| Other puerperal causes | 10 | 2.98 |
| Total | 16 | 4.77 |
Death Rates of Infants under 1 year of age.
| All infants per 1,000 live births | 49 |
| Legitimate infants per 1,000 legitimate live births | 48 |
| Illegitimate infants per 1,000 illegitimate live births | 101.01 |
| Deaths from Measles (all ages) | 4 |
| Deaths from Whooping Cough (all ages) | 20 |
| Deaths from Diarrhoea (under 2 years of age) | 33 |
Causes of Sickness or Invalidity.
There was no unusual or excessive mortality during the year,
nor was the amount of sickness and invalidity, as far as could be
ascertained, such as to call for any special comment in this report.
During the year considerable public anxiety existed as to
whether the present state of economic depression had or had not
exerted a harmful effect upon the nutritional condition of the
unemployed and the poorer paid workers.
No satisfactory or generally accepted method of assessing the
nutritional state of individuals is available, and this explains the