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
Hampstead 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hampstead Borough]
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Table V.
| Place of Accident. | Total Both Sexes. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| At Work. | Road or Public Place. | Home. | Unknown. | ||||||||||
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | ||||||
| 3 | 0 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3 | 36 | |||||
| Over 60 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 35 | 1 | 1 | 52 | ||||
| 23 | 1 | 47 | 23 | 31 | 36 | 42 | 20 | 223 | |||||
| Over 60 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 17 | 8 | 35 | 8 | 10 | 92 | ||||
| Total (both sexes) | 28 | 123 | 167 | 85 | 403 | ||||||||
Of all the accidents here considered, 32 per cent. are known to have
occurred in the home. The percentage may well be higher for it is
probable that the majority of the 85 "unknown" occurred in the home,
as this type of accident is not reported to the same extent as industrial or
road accidents where the question of compensation and court proceedings
arises. Of the fatal accidents 65 per cent. occurred in the home and of
these 75 per cent. were in people over the age of 60 years.
The causes of these home accidents are classified in Table VI.
Table VI.
| Causes of Home Accidents. | Deaths. | Hospital Cases. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falls | 27 | 69 | 96 |
| Burns | 11 | 26 | 37 |
| Swallowing tablets | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| Gassing | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Other and unknown | 8 | 6 | 14 |
By far the commonest cause is falls either down-stairs, over a step,
or tripping on the level. Next comes burns, poisoning by swallowing an
overdose or even the wrong tablets, and gassing. Falls accounted for
57 per cent. of all accidents in the home and burns for 22 per cent.
(national figures for 1950—falls 58 per cent., burns 12 per cent.).
Length of Stay in Hospital.
To get an impression of the length of disability and the disruption
to industry and home life caused by accidents, the length of time in
hospital is shown in Table VII. These figures are an understatement as
they do not include any time spent in hospital as a result of transfer to
a burns unit or an orthopaedic hospital, nor do the figures give any
indication of the time spent off-work at home whilst attending hospital
as an out-patient. Once more the increased injury suffered by older