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 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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46
The Council is empowered to recover the cost of burial from the
estate of the deceased, and is eligible to receive payments in respect of
the cost of such burial from death grants payable under the provisions of
the National Insurance Act, 1946.
Where persons without knowD relatives die in the City, it is frequently
necessary not only to arraDge for their burial, but to dispose of the
contents of their homes. This course is necessary to enable the proceeds
to be applied towards the cost of burial and also to avoid rent accruing
and to release the accommodation for housing purposes as early as
possible.
During the year 40 burials were undertaken by the City Council in
its cemetery at Harwell, the requests for such burials being received from the following sources
| H.M. Coroner's Officer | 17 |
| Relatives of the deceased | 11 |
| Friends of the deceased | 6 |
| Hospitals in the City | 6 |
| 40 |
Coroner's Court and Mortuary. During 1952, 291 bodies were received in the Mortuary on Coroner's Warrants, etc. Four bodies were admitted to await burial.
| Number of Cases. | |
|---|---|
| Inquest cases | |
| Non-inquest cases | 179 |
| Post mortem examinations held | |
| Causes of death in the foregoing were as under:— | |
| Accidental drowning | |
| Found drowned | |
| Suicide by drowning | 3 |
| „ by other means | |
| Accidents— | |
| Street | 13 |
| Domestic | |
| Others | 19 |
| Natural causes | 187 |
| Misadventure | 9 |
| Murder | — |
| Miscellaneous cases | 14 |