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
Harrow 1941
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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6
Deaths.
Of the 909 total deaths in the district, 148 occurred among nonresidents.
As there were 813 inward transfer deaths, the total number
of deaths of residents was 1,774, a figure comparable to that of 1,725
in 1941, whereas the previous highest figure before that was 1,408 in
1939.
Of the 148 outward transfer deaths, 62 took place at the Orthopaedic
Hospital, 10 at the Harrow and Wealdstone Hospital, 20 in Nursing
Homes and 53 in private houses.
Of the 813 deaths of local residents which occurred outside the area,
most took place in institutions, 326 being at Redhill Hospital, 98 at
Redhill House and 86 (including 11 new-born infants) at other County
Hospitals. Three deaths occurred at institutions for the treatment of
tuberculosis and 22 at Shenley Hospital. 80 deaths took place in hospitals
iust outside the district and 56 in various of the London General Hospitals.
The following is the Registrar-General's abridged list of cases of death in the district :—
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typhoid fever | 0 | I | Heart disease | 172 | 219 |
| Cerebro-spinal fever | 5 | 2 | Other circ. diseases | 22 | 25 |
| Scarlet fever | 0 | 0 | Bronchitis | 56 | 44 |
| Whooping cough | 3 | 5 | Pneumonia | 68 | 60 |
| Diphtheria | 0 | 0 | Other res. diseases | 14 | 12 |
| Resp. tuberculosis | 72 | 39 | Ulcer of stomach | 26 | 3 |
| Other tuberculosis | 3 | 6 | Diarrhoea under 2 years | 18 | 10 |
| Syphilitic diseases | 6 | 3 | Appendicitis | 6 | 2 |
| Influenza | 17 | 12 | Other digestive diseases | 16 | 28 |
| Measles | 1 | 1 | Nephritis | 30 | 22 |
| Acute polio-myelitis | 0 | 0 | Puerperal sepsis | 0 | 3 |
| Acute encephalitis | 2 | 1 | Other maternal causes | 0 | 6 |
| Cancer of mouth and œsophagus (M), and uterus (F) | 13 | 22 | Premature birth | 19 | 13 |
| Cong. malformations, etc. | 22 | 12 | |||
| Cancer of stomach | 20 | 16 | Suicide | 6 | b |
| Cancer of breast | 2 | 29 | Road traffic accident | 19 | 3 |
| Cancer of other sites | 92 | 94 | Other violent causes | 26 | 31 |
| Diabetes | 6 | 12 | All other causes | 67 | 77 |
| Intra-cran. lesions | 56 | 70 | All causes | 885 | 889 |
1,774 deaths in a population of — is a death rate of , the
same figure as last year as contrasted with figures ranging from 71,
to 8-1 in the years 1934 to 1939. Compared with last year, fatalities
from some infections were higher, the figure for cerebro-spinal fever
being 7 instead of 3, whooping cough 8 instead of one, and respiratory
tuberculosis 110 as compared with 77. Puerperal deaths were 9 this
year as against 2 last year. The number of infant deaths was almost
identical with that in the previous year, though with the smaller number
of births the infant mortality rate is raised. There was an increase o