London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Harrow 1951
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
This page requires JavaScript
9
1,279 births occurred in the district (1,258 live- and 21 stillbirths).
Of this number 222 were to residents of other districts, 1,786 (1,738
live and 48 still) birth notifications were transferred from other districts,
being mostly of births occurring to Harrow mothers in hospitals in
Middlesex or in London.
Deaths.
1,675 persons died in this district in 1951. Of these 194 were
persons who were not resident in the area. 40 deaths took place in the
various hospitals, including Roxbourne Hospital ; 58 in private nursing
homes and 12 in Oxhey Grove.
Of the 785 deaths of the local residents which occurred outside the
district, most took place in institutions, 330 being at the Edgware General
Hospital and 36 at other hospitals in the County. 14 deaths occurred in
institutions for the treatment of those suffering from tuberculosis, and
2 new-born infants died at maternity hospitals. 134 deaths took place in
hospitals just outside the district including 7 in nearby isolation hosnitals.
and 130 in various London hosDitals.
1 he following is the Kegistrar-Ueneral s abridged list of causes of death in this district :—
| Male | Female | Male | Female | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resp. tuberculosis | 25 | 16 | Other heart diseases | 116 | 217 |
| Other tuberculosis | 4 | 3 | Influenza | 26 | 14 |
| Syphilitic disease | 3 | 1 | Pneumonia | 45 | 51 |
| Diphtheria | 0 | 0 | Bronchitis | 86 | 49 |
| Whooping Cough | 0 | 2 | Other respiratory dis eases | 3 | 6 |
| Meningococcal infections | 1 | 0 | |||
| Peptic ulcer | 11 | 9 | |||
| Acute poliomyelitis | 0 | 0 | Gastritis, enteritis | 3 | 4 |
| Measles | 0 | 1 | Nephritis | 6 | 8 |
| Other infective diseases | 1 | 4 | Hyperplasia of pros tate | 24 | 0 |
| Cancer of stomach | 29 | 20 | Pregnancy, etc. | 0 | 3 |
| Cancer of lung | 69 | 12 | Congenital malforma tion | 12 | 9 |
| Cancer of breast | 0 | 55 | |||
| Cancer of uterus | 0 | 17 | Other diseases | 74 | 102 |
| Cancer of other sites | 92 | 95 | Motor vehicle accidents | 13 | 4 |
| Leukaemia | 4 | 8 | |||
| Diabetes | 5 | 10 | Other accidents | 16 | 12 |
| Vascular diseases of nervous system | 86 | 150 | Suicide | 10 | 8 |
| Homicide | 1 | 0 | |||
| Coronary disease | 182 | 99 | |||
| Hypertension | 35 | 37 | |||
| Other circulatory diseases | 40 | 46 | Total | ,022 | 1,072 |
The number of deaths, 2,094, is higher than the 1,999 of 1950,
which was the largest number of deaths in this district in any one year.
The death rate is 9.5 per thousand population. The rates for the
district for the years 1944 onwards were 9.3, 9.0, 8.6, 8.5, and 8.9.