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11
was circulated to Medical Officers of Health early in the year.
It therefore follows that retrospective comparison with certain
classes of diseases will not be possible. For example, in the new
classification are to be found Cerebral Haemorrhage, Diabetes,
Arterio-sclerosis, Ulcer of the Stomach, all of which diseases
were formerly included under the heading "other defined
diseases." Again, deaths due to myocardial degeneration were
similarly placed in the latter category, whereas now they are
assigned to Heart Disease, and thus the number of deaths
attributable to this cause is increased to an appreciable extent.
The Births and Deaths Registration Act, 1926, came into
operation on 1st July, 1927, and amends the law relating to
certification of deaths and disposal of the dead. A certificate
of cause of death can be given only by a registered medical
practitioner in the prescribed form supplied by the RegistrarGeneral
through the Registrars of Births and Deaths. Formerly
a person was required to give the certificate to some person
required to give information for the purpose of registering
the death. Now, however, the practitioner is required to deliver
the cerlificate to the Registrar direct.
Changes have been made also relating to the particulars of
the cause of death. A new form of Certification of Death was
introduced for use by medical practitioners. The form was
drawn up after consultation between the Registrar-General and
representatives of leading bodies of the medical profession with
the object of making the official records of the causes of deaths
a more exact summary of the opinions expressed in the certificate
than hitherto. Formerly where several causes of death
were recorded on the certificate it was sometimes a matter of
difficulty in deciding which was the particular cause of death
for classification purposes. It is hoped that the new form will
assist in remedying this state of affairs, particularly so since a
note is made on the form drawing the Medical Practitioner's
attention to the fact that the actual cause of death should be
certified and not the mode of dying which is so frequently done.
The following table showing causes of death at all ages
has been supplied by the Registrar-General, and is included in
accordance with the request contained in the Ministry of Health's
Circular No. 834:—