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) 1896
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, The Vestry of the Parish of St. George the Martyr]
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6 Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
London, there have been some 280 unnecessary deaths in St. George's, Southwark,
during the year 1896.
In the forty.three metropolitan sanitary areas, the lowest death.rates were 11.7
in Hampstead, 12.1 in Stoke Newington, 13 3 in Lee, 133 in Wandsworth, 14.2 in
Plumstead, and 14 4 in St. George's, Hanover Square ; in the other districts the rates
ranged to 23.6 in Limehouse, 24.9 in St. George's in the East and 25.8 in St. Luke's.
The facts of your death.rate are briefly as follows:-
TABLE III.
| Sub-District. | No. of Deaths. | Death-rate per 1,000. | Deaths under 1 year to 1,000 Births. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1896. | 1895. | 1896. | 1895. | 1896. | 1895. | |
| Borough Road | 482 | 558 | 27.2 | 33.9 | 216 | 247 |
| London Road | 454 | 421 | 20.2 | 20.4 | 160 | 178 |
| Kent Road | 396 | 453 | 21.4 | 20.6 | 174 | 199 |
| Whole Parish | 1,332 | 1,432 | 22.9 | 23.7 | 183 | 208 |
| London | 81,721 | 86,938 | 18.2 | 19.7 | 161 | 155 |
| 33 Large Towns | 208,534 | 218,166 | 18.9 | 20.6 | 167 | 182 |
It is clear then that the death.rate of St. George's, Southwark, is abnormally high.
One is naturally led to enquire whether a further analysis of facts and figures will
throw any light upon this state of affairs.
On comparing the average death.rate in the Three Sub.districts for the years
1892.3.4.5.6 with that of 1896 we find:-
TABLE IV.
| Sub-District. | Death-rate per 1,000. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1892-3-4-5-6 | 1896 | |
| Borough Road | 30.5 | 27.2 |
| London Road | 20.3 | 20.2 |
| Kent Road | 21.0 | 21'4 |
Hence we see the heavy death.rate in the Borough Road Sub-District has somewhat
decreased. During the past year the mortality in the Borough Road has been
seven over that of the London Road, and 5.8 over that of the Kent Road areas. The
period over which these figures extend—five years—and the actual number of deaths
are both too small to allow of drawing any absolutely sound conclusions. Nevertheless,
it may be noticed that the mortality of the Borough Road Sub.District is 4.5 higher
than that of Liverpool for the year 1896. The latter place had the highest death.rate
of the thirty.three large English towns. Further, the figures, so far as they extend,
show that the excessive mortality of the Borough Road Sub.District is maintained
from year to year, so that it appears to be due to inherent and not to accidental
causos.