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
St George (Southwark) 1895
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, The Vestry of the Parish of St. George the Martyr]
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Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
especially of those from zymotic diseases, no really trustworthy data can be secured
upon which to calculate the rates of mortality.
In the forty-three sanitary areas of the metropolis the zymotic death-rates ranged
from 1.0 in Hampstead, 1.1 Stoke Newington, 1.3 in St. James', Westminster, and
Wandsworth; and the highest 32 in Mile End, 3.8 in St. George's, Southwark,
4.2 in Bermondsey, 4.6 in Limehouse, and 5.4 in St. George's in the East.
Proposed Reception House.
Hardly any part of the system of prevention of the spread of infectious
disease is of more importance than the provision of a shelter for infected persons.
It is, therefore, highly gratifying to me as your Medical Officer to be able to report
that during the past year your Vestry has decided to erect such a building. This
step is calculated to put a check upon one hitherto uncontrolled source of disease and
death in this crowded centre of population, and will, in the long run, doubtless lead
to a great saving not only of life but also of money to the community. The whole
scope of this question, which is one of the most advanced, and at the same time
practical applications of modern sanitary science, is discussed fully in a special
report, an abstract of which will be found on page 48. I may add that similar
refuges have been either built, or are about to be built, in twenty of the Metropolitan
districts.
An excellent site, adjoining the Stone Yard, has been acquired from the Bridge
House Estate. On this ground it has been arranged to erect an eight-roomed house,
with baths and all necessary appliances. It is to be earnestly hoped, in the interests
of the poor of St. George's, that before many months have gone by the parish will
be provided with this desirable building.
Table II
| Sub-District. | Birth-rate per 1,000. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1893. | 1894. | 1895. | |
| Borough Road | 36.1 | 37.3 | 38.2 |
| London Road | 32.4 | 37.6 | 30.8 |
| Kent Road | 37.6 | 28.5 | 39.6 |
| Whole Parish | 35.3 | 34.4 | 36.0 |
| London | 30.9 | 30.1 | 30.4 |
| 33 large English Towns | 31.9 | 30.9 | 31.6 |
Table VII.
Mortality in St. Georges, Southwark, in 1895, from the Seven Principal
Zymotic Diseases.
Actual number of Deaths
in St. George's, Southwark.
St. George's, Southwark,
proportion to total London
deaths according to its
population.
Measles
71
36
Diarrhœa
61
49
Whooping Cough
56
24
Diphtheria
19
31
Scarlet Fever
14
11
Fever (chiefly Typhoid)
9
0.8
Small-pox
0
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