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 1855
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Greenwich District]
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TO THE
GREENWICH DISTRICT BOARD OF WORKS.
Gentlemen,
In the First Report that I have the honor of laying
before you, I am desirous of calling your attention to the Registrar's
Returns of the mortality that has occurred in this District during
the past seven years. From the 1st of January, 1849, to the 31st of
December, 1855, I find that the deaths took place in the following
numbers, viz:—
From the 1st of january, 1849, to the 31st of December, 1855. I find that the deaths took place in the following numbers, viz.:-
| In the year | Greenwich. | St. Paul, Deptford. | St. Nichlos,Deptford. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1849 | 1633* | 699 | 202 |
| 1850 | 1060 | 432 | 123 |
| 1851 | 1167 | 516 | 135 |
| 1852 | 1161 | 545 | 148 |
| 1853 | 1276 | 521 | 188 |
| 1854 | 1471 | 729 | 325 |
| 1855 | 1327 | 569 | 166 |
| Total | 9095 | 4011 | 1287 |
From the above statement you will perceive a great disproportion
in the number of deaths between the different years; and
from which statement your natural enquiry will be—What has
been the cause of this disproportion in the mortality between one
year and another? The fact that the Cholera was the cause of
this increase during some of the years might to many appear a
sufficient answer, and undoubtedly such a remark would be to a
certain extent just:—But that reply is not sufficient for my purpose,
nor does it explain the facts that I am desirous of eliciting.
* These Returns for the Parish of Greenwich include a large number of
Deaths from the Dreadnought Hospital Ship, Greenwich Hospital, (principally
aged persons,) and a great number from the Union Workhouse.