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
Paddington 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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43
DEATHS IN INSTITUTIONS.
Deaths by Suicide—(20)—all "of unsound mind" or "temporarily insane."—
Poison, 4 (hydrochloric acid, m. 41; opium, m. 38; oxalic acid, m. 65; f. 37).
Suffocation, 2 (chloroform, m. 29; coal gas, m. 31)
Hanging, 4—all males Cut throat, 3—all males
Drowning, 2—both males Jumped out of window—one each sex
Shooting, 3—all males Jumped in front of train—both males
Open Verdicts—(4)—
Found dead and decomposed—2 (new-born infants)
Found drowned—2 (males)
TABLE 30. Inquests touching deaths of Residents. 1903.
| Finding of Jury. | St. Mary. | St. John. | North-West Paddington. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M. | F. | M. | F. | M. | F. | |
| Natural Causes | 45 | 39 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 5 |
| By Misadventure | 2 | 1 | ||||
| By Accident | 26 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 4 | |
| By Suicide | 6 | 1 | 6 | |||
| Murder | ||||||
| Neglect | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||
| Open—" No evidence " | 4 | |||||
| Totals | 85 | 53 | 22 | 13 | 18 | 5 |
DEATHS IN INSTITUTIONS.
From the public institutions within the Borough 743 deaths were registered, being 8 in
excess of the number for 1902 (53 weeks). In addition, there were 13 deaths in nursing
homes. Among the 756 deaths were 349 deaths of non-residents. (Sec Table III. Appendix).
Of the 181 deaths of residents returned from Outlying Districts, were 161 deaths in public
institutions. The corrected number of deaths of residents in public institutions was 564, as
compared with 593 in 1902, the respective proportions per 100 deaths being 29·4 and 27·5.
The causes of death will be found in Table IIIA., Appendix.
The-deaths in public institutions occurred in:—
| Poor Law Institutions 311 (292) | equal to 16·2 (13·5) per cent. of all deaths. |
| Metropolitan Asylums Board Hospitals 26 (52) | „ „ 1·3 (2·4) „ „ |
| Lunatic Asylums 45 (55) | „ „ 2·3 (2·5) „ „ |
| Voluntary Hospitals 182 (194) | „ „ 9·4 (9·0) „ „ |
The proportion of deaths of residents of the different Wards (in institutions of all
descriptions) ranged from 35·0 per cent. in Church Ward to 15·0 per cent. in Lancaster Gate,
East, Ward. In 1902 the highest proportion was in Church Ward (36 per cent.) and the
lowest in Lancaster Gate, East, Ward (14 per cent.).