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
Kingston upon Thames 1950
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kingston-upon-Thames]
This page requires JavaScript
5
The infant deaths, numbering 19, are regretfullyhigher
than previous years, and contain some which must
be classified as preventable,,
Considering them in three groups, four deaths
occurred in the first group 0-24 hours, all of which
were from conditions which could not be classified as
preventableo With regard to the second group 24 hours
to 1 month, nine deaths took place, most of them in the
first week of life in spite of due care. Of the six
deaths in the third group, one month to one year, in
three cases no indication is offered that they might have
been prevented, but in the remaining three in that group,
namely "Asphyxia due to overlaying" at the age of 2 months:
"Asphyxia due to the inhalation of stomach contents" at
home at the age of 4 months: (both of which were recorded
as accidental deaths), and the third one "Broncho Pneumonia"
at the age of ten months: all leave a strong impression that
they might have been preventable.
The result of this large number of deaths of children under 12 months, during 1950, and the considerable drop in the number of births in the same period (i.e. from 729 births in 1949 to 619 in 1950) is that the infant mortality rate is artificially high at 30.69, when compared with 15 deaths and a rate of 20.58 for 1949.
| (iv) Other Deaths. | No. of Deaths |
|---|---|
| Deaths from Cancer (all ages) | 78 |
| Deaths from Measles (all ages) | — |
| Deaths from Whooping Cough (all ages) | – |
| Deaths from Gastritis, Enteritis, and Diarrhoea (under 2 years). | 1 |
The following tables (I) (II) (III) (IV) summarise
certain vital statistics. The figures in Table (II)
are the Registrar General's estimates.
The causes of deaths shown in Table (IV) are now in
accordance with the 36 headings based on the Abbreviated
List of the International Statistical Classification of
Diseases, Injuries and Causes of Death. These differ
from the headings used in previous years, and, in order
to provide comparative figures the causes of death used
for 1946, 1947, 1948, and 1949, have been converted, as
far as possible, to the new classifications,.