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

City of Westminster 1927

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]

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75
Inquests were help at Horseferry Road, where the Coroner's Court is
situated, in 341 cases, and there were 18 adjourned inquests. Postmortem
examinations were made in 80 instances. Sixteen bodies
were received in the mortuary chapel to await burial.

Table: The number of dead bodies taken to the mortuaries for purposes of nquest, and to await burial, during the last 25 years were:— Table XI.

The number of dead bodies taken to the mortuaries for purposes of nquest, and to await burial, during the last 25 years were:— Table XI.

Total.For Inquest.To await Burial.Total.For Inquest.To await Burial.
190339634155191628125229
190438132259191727826513
190536830761191828524243
190634428361191930826939
190735828177192028926920
190836429866192127323835
190929125833192226924722
191033328152192333631817
191138333449192434032812
191232428440192533431717
191332828642192634332320
1914323295 ,28192735734116
191537634927

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There are resting places for the dead at Ebury Bridge, Dufours Place
and Drury Lane.
MATERNITY AND CHILD WELFARE.
The persistently high rate of maternal mortality throughout the
country has continued to engage most serious attention. The problem,
although existent in London, does not assume the grave dimensions
found in some of the Northern industrial towns. The most pressing
need seems to be more maternity hospital accommodation and a higher
standard of midwifery in the homes of the people. It has been stated
that no fewer than 3,000 women lose their lives each year in childbirth
and these melancholy figures are as bad as they were twenty years
ago. There has been no improvement comparable with the reduction
in infantile mortality. The earlier report of Dame Janet Campbell of
the Ministry of Health on "Maternal Mortality" and her more recent
work " The Protection of Motherhood "deal exhaustively with various
aspects of this disturbing question and have been the means of arousing
a widespread desire for active measures to combat it. These reports,
masterly in their critical survey of the factors which contribute to
maternal mortality, suggest the foundations on which the whole fabric
of preventive effort should be built. It is apparent that there is need
for much greater development of ante-natal supervision of the mother.
The clinics could be used to greater practical advantage. In midwifery
(9616)q t 2