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
Kensington 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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| Occupation. | Cases. | Deaths. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Males. | Females. | - Males. | Females. | |
| Brought forward | 124 | 107 | 70 | 34 |
| Motor trimmer | _ | _ | 1 | - |
| Musician | 2 | 1 | — | - |
| Newsvendor | 2 | — | — | - |
| Nun | — | 1 | — | - |
| Nurse—asylum, hospital, monthly | — | 3 | — | 1 |
| Paperhanger | 2 | — | 2 | — |
| Persons in asylums, common lodging houses, etc. | 44 | 25 | — | — |
| Pipemaker | 1 | — | — | — |
| Plasterer | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Porter—coal, shop, railway, etc. | 11 | — | 6 | — |
| Postman | 1 | — | — | — |
| Printer or printer's apprentice | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Publican, potman | 1 | — | 2 | — |
| Reader of plays | — | — | 1 | — |
| Saddler | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Sailor, or wife of a | 1 | — | 1 | 1 |
| School boy, girl (elementary) | 57 | 48 | 3 | 4 |
| School master | 1 | — | 1 | 1 |
| Ship broker | — | — | 1 | — |
| Shop assistant, shop keeper | 2 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Sign writer | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Slater | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Soldier, or wife of | 1 | — | 3 | 1 |
| Solicitor | — | — | 1 | — |
| Son of artizan or labourer above school age | 3 | — | — | — |
| Street singer | 3 | — | 2 | — |
| Tailor, tailoress | 7 | 6 | 2 | 1 |
| Tortoise shell polisher | 1 | — | 1 | — |
| Trunk maker | — | — | 1 | — |
| Tubeman | 1 | — | — | — |
| Typist | — | 1 | — | 1 |
| University professor | — | — | 1 | — |
| Unspecified occupations | 5 | 29 | 1 | 2 |
| Upholsterer | 2 | — | — | — |
| Waiter, waitress | 3 | 2 | — | — |
| Watchmaker | 1 | — | — | — |
| Wheelwright | 1 | — | — | — |
| Wife or daughter of tradesman, artizan or labourer | — | 120 | — | 34 |
| Totals | 282 | 346 | 107 | 82 |
The above figures cannot in themselves indicate the effect of occupation on the prevalence of
consumption, and no conclusions can be drawn until they have been compared with the Census
figures which will shortly be published, and which will show the proportion of persons in the total
population engaged in various occupations. It may, however, be noted that 41 cases and 12 deaths
occurred among shoemakers, clerks and tailors or dressmakers, that is to say among persons who
lead an indoor life and frequently work in an atmosphere which is close because the means of
ventilation in their workplaces are either inadequate or not used.
Preventive Measures.—The measures to be adopted for the prevention of phthisis may be
classified as direct and indirect. The prevention of overcrowding in homes and in workshops, the
provision of adequate light and ventilation, and the closing or demolition of insanitary houses may
be mentioned as examples of action which have no doubt been indirectly responsible for the decrease
in the death-rate of phthisis which has occurred in the last twenty years. The following description
of the action taken by those who deal directly with existing centres of infection, must accordingly
be understood to apply to a part only of the preventive work which is carried out in the Borough.