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
Kensington 1927
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington]
This page requires JavaScript
The deaths in the several wards, etc., are set out in the following table:—
| The Borough | 324 |
| North Kensington | 143 |
| South Kensington | 175 |
| Wards. | |
| St. Charles | 47 |
| Golborne | 31 |
| Norland | 31 |
| Pembridge | 34 |
| Holland | 41 |
| Earl's Court | 40 |
| Queen's Gate | 29 |
| Redcliffe | 41 |
| Brompton | 24 |
| Ward Unknown | 6 |
Although the number of deaths from this disease was twenty less than in the previous year, there is no doubt that the death rate from cancer is steadily increasing. The number of deaths from this disease occurring in Kensington in each of the past five years is compared in the following table with the deaths occurring in similar periods twenty years ago :—
| Year. | No. of Deaths. | Year. | No. of Deaths |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1903 | 187 | 1923 | 269 |
| 1904 | 174 | 1924 | 293 |
| 1905 | 172 | 1925 | 315 |
| 1906 | 171 | 1926 | 344 |
| 1907 | 201 | 1927 | 324 |
Heart Disease.—Heart disease is still the commonest cause of death, and last year 431 persons
died from this complaint, this number being 44 in excess of the figure for 1926.
It has been estimated that probably about half the deaths from heart disease result from
rheumatic fever contracted in the early years of life. This malady, which is common in children,
has a great tendency to damage the valves of the heart and thus handicap the patient throughout
life, in addition to causing death from heart disease at a comparatively early age.
It is with a view to reducing the large amount of heart disease and the invalidity following
rheumatic fever and to preventing many of the deaths from heart disease following rheumatic fever
that the Council have established their Rheumatism Supervisory Centre at the Princess Louise
Kensington Hospital for Children.
Table showing the number of deaths in 1927 from certain diseases of public health importance, arranged in four weekly periods.
| Four Weeks emding | Measles. | Scarlet Fever. | Whooping. Cough. | Diphtheria. | Influenza. | Phthisis. | Cancer. | Bronchitis. | Pneumonia. | Diarrhoea and Enteritis. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 29 | – | – | 7 | 2 | 42 | 12 | 31 | 49 | 56 | 4 |
| February 26 | — | — | 3 | 3 | 39 | 11 | 19 | 35 | 34 | 1 |
| March 26 | — | — | — | 1 | 9 | 8 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 3 |
| April 28 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 11 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 3 |
| May 21 | — | — | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 25 | 10 | 6 | 2 |
| June 18 | — | — | 1 | — | 2 | 14 | 28 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| July 16 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 6 | 20 | 4 | 9 | 5 |
| August 13 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 7 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
| Sept. 10 | — | — | — | 1 | — | 5 | 25 | 3 | 5 | — |
| October 8 | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 23 | 8 | 8 | 9 |
| November 7 | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 41 | 15 | 15 | 8 |
| December 3 | — | — | — | 1 | 5 | 12 | 26 | 9 | 10 | 2 |
| December 30 | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 24 | 16 | 30 | — |
| Totals | 1 | — | 14 | 11 | 109 | 114 | 324 | 181 | 210 | 37 |