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 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich Borough.
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Little variation in the pattern of death registrations occurred
during the year, the first and fourth quarters producing 30% and
27.5% respectively, and the third quarter 19.1%.
It will be observed from the following table that during 1960
the deaths occurring at 65 years and upwards accounted for 67.2%
of the total compared with a figure of 22.8% for 1901.
Deaths in the age group 0-5 years show an even more striking comparison; in 1901 the deaths in this group amounted to 37.4% whilst the figure for the current year is 2.8%.
| Age Group | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1951 | 1960 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year of age | 362 | 306 | 175 | 97 | 29 | |
| Between 1 and 5 years | 187 | 158 | 80 | 39 | 7 | 4 |
| Between 5 and 15 years | 64 | 67 | 58 | 22 | 10 | |
| Between 15 and 25 years | 66 | 60 | 67 | 65 | 12 | |
| Between 25 and 65 years | 454 | 474 | 466 | 382 | 311 | |
| 65 years and over | 335 | 356 | 387 | 529 | 633 | 623 |
| Totals | 1,468 | 1,421 | 1,243 | 1,134 | 1,002 |
MATERNAL MORTALITY
One death from puerperal causes was recorded during the
current year, a position similar to that obtaining in 1959, giving a
Maternal Death Rate of 0.78.
The death was in respect of a woman of 23 years who died in
Hammersmith Hospital from renal failure due to septic abortion,
self-induced.
INFANTILE MORTALITY
Fifty years ago infant mortality in Greenwich was at the rate
of 108 per 1,000 live births, the actual number of children dying
before reaching the age of one year being 261. Comparable figures
for the current year are 17.54 and 22 respectively.
This substantial reduction reflects the national trend (the rate
for England and Wales being 21.9 and that for London 21.6) and
serves to emphasize the inestimable value of the preventive health
services which, together with advances in chemotherapeutics and
in diagnostic techniques, has brought about such a remarkable
transformation. Today, generally speaking, hazards to infant life
come not from malnutrition nor infectious disease but arise mainly
from prematurity, congenital malformation and inherited metabolic
disease. Nevertheless, medical research has enabled the damaging