View report page

66
The death has usually occurred before the other parts of the body
have worn out, and the unfortunate sufferer has died in the prime
of life. For this reason it is important that measures should be
taken to prevent permanent damage to the heart from Rheumatism
in childhood, and in the report on the School Medical Sendees, an
account is given of the measures which are being taken. Although
heart disease now looms larger in our returns than any other cause
it does not mean that preventable heart disease is more prevalent.
It means that the present day conceptions of heart disease are different
from those which obtained in the past, and the increase is due
to the result of this new orientation, and is shown only in the deaths
in advanced age.
Similarly, the increasing number of deaths from Cancer is
partly due to the altered age incidence of the population. Of the
112 deaths from Cancer, 52 were in persons over 65 years of age.
For the first time on record more deaths of Acton residents
occurred outside the districts than inside ; this is partly accounted
for by the fact there is no County hospital situated in the borough.
I have on several occasions pointed out the changed and changing
attitude of the public towards the treatment of disease in public
institutions. Last years 418 deaths occurred in public institutions
in addition to those which occurred in nursing homes.
The institutional deaths were as follows:—
County Hospitals 275
County Sanatoria 6
Outside Voluntary Hospitals 83
Acton Hospitals 47
Fever Hospital 7
Private Nursing Homes 21
Inquests and Coroner's Inquiries.
6 deaths occurred either in the street or in an ambulance on
the way to a hospital. 30 inquests were held, and 31 deaths were
certified by the Coroner after a post-mortem examination but without
an inquest. The list of inquests together with the causes of
death is given on a later page.