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VIOLENCE.
Deaths from violence (including suicide), showed an appreciable
decrease during 1948, the death rate being 0.30 per thousand of population,
compared with 0.56 last year and an average of 0.39 for the inter-war
years. (The chief cause of the high rate in 1947 was the unfortunate
train accident in October of that year.)
There was also a welcome decrease in the number of deaths following
falls in the more or less elderly, which has accounted for a very appreciable
proportion of this group of deaths in recent years.
Deaths on the road were again less than in pre-war years, being three,
which is the same as last year. All resulted from motor car accidents.
In two instances the persons killed were pedestrians, the other being a
cyclist.
Unfortunately the suicide death rate was nearly double that in 1947,
but about the average for the decade 1919-29 and slightly less than the
following 10 years.
TUBERCULOSIS AND PNEUMONIA.
Deaths from tuberculosis and pneumonia are referred to in later
sections of this report.
MATERNAL MORTALITY.
There was only 1 death associated with childbirth during 1948,
compared with 2, 3, nil, 2 and 1 in the preceding five years.
This death really resulted from a pre-existing chronic disease which
was accelerated by pregnancy.
The local maternal mortality rate was 1.17 per 1,000 live and stillbirths
compared with 1.02 for England and Wales, which was the lowest
yet recorded.
INFANT MORTALITY.
During 1948 there were 24 deaths among the children under one year
of age, as compared with 24, 27, 25, 28 and 32 in the preceding five years.
Only one of the deaths was in respect of an illegitimate child.
The resultant infant mortality rate was thus only 26 per 1,000
registered births, which is one of the lowest recorded for the District.
The infant mortality rate for England and Wales was 34 in 1948,
compared with 41 in 1947, which was the lowest hitherto recorded.
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