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
Enfield 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Enfield]
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It will be seen from Table II that of the 36 infants who died
before attaining the age of 1 year, 24 died within the first four
weeks of life, and of this number 18 deaths occurred in infants
under 1 week.
The infant mortality rate for the District is 22.98 and this
figure compares most favourably with the rest of the country.
BIRTHS
The corrected birth rates for both sexes, live and still births, which takes into consideration those born outside the District and those in the District not rightly recorded to the District, and also the corrected birth rates for the last five years are :—
| Year. | Boys. | Girls. | Total. | Birth-rate per 1,000 Population. | Illegitimate Birth-rate per 1,000 Population. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | 1,213 | 1,142 | 2,355 | 21.82 | 0.69 |
| 1948 | 1,013 | 943 | 1,956 | 17.57 | 0.36 |
| 1949 | 951 | 811 | 1,762 | 15.85 | 0.56 |
| 1950 | 816 | 782 | 1,598 | 14.31 | 0.57 |
| 1951 | 775 | 813 | 1,588 | 14.45 | 0.38 |
INQUESTS
Forty-five inquests and one-hundred-and-twenty-six P.M.s
without inquests were held during the year. Of these, 127 deaths
were due to natural causes, 30 to accidental causes, 8 to suicide,
2 to misadventure, 1 to inattention at birth, and in 3 cases an open
verdict was recorded.
FATAL HOME ACCIDENTS.
In 1949 I wrote about fatal home accidents in an article for the
Enfield Road Safety Brochure, and once again my attention has
been drawn to this subject by a publication of the Ministry of
Health, from which the following depressing information is extracted.
In 1949 in England and Wales there were 5,553 fatal
accidents at home, although this figure was a distinct improvement
on previous years. About 60 per cent. of these accidents occurrcd
to persons over the age of 65 years, and about 20 per cent. to children
under the age of 5 years. About 60 per cent. of these accidents
were due to falls, and the remaining 40 per cent. to suffocation, burns
and scalds, and coal gas. More children under 15 years died from
accidents in their own homes than died from accidental causes elsewhere,
including road accidents. More children under 15 years died