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
Mile End 1891
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hamlet of Mile End Old Town]
This page requires JavaScript
5
BIRTHS AND BIRTH RATE.
The number of Births registered during the past year was
4,109, giving a Birth Rate of 38.2 per 1,000 per annum.
It is an astonishing fact that in our district the Birth Rate is
nearly double the Death Rate, this year being no exception.
In my last year's Report I drew up a Table showing this
anomaly for the last ten years.
DEATHS AND DEATH RATE.
The Deaths registered from all causes in Mile End Old Town
were 2,067. These figures are the gross; and in order to get the
exact number of Deaths that belong to Mile End Old Town,
regard must be paid to the persons who died in Public Institutions,
such as Hospitals, Asylums, Infirmaries not in our district, but
which were admitted from Mile End; and on the other hand, the
patients who died in the Public Institutions in our district such
as City of London Infirmary, Jewish Home, and Portuguese
Home, are to be considered; that being worked out I find that
the number of Deaths belonging to our Hamlet was 2,289,
giving a Death Rate of 21.2 per 1,000. The Death Rate of the
Metropolis for the same period was 21.0.
That we compare very favourably with the Metropolis, and also other East End districts, the following table will show :
| Total number of Deaths from all causes for year 1891. | Population according to the Census. | Death Rate per 1,000 inhabitants. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LONDON | 88,760 | 4,221,452 | 21.0 |
| MILE END OLD TOWN | 2,289 | 107,565 | 21.2 |
| Shoreditch | 3,068 | 124,009 | 24.7 |
| Bethnal Green | 3,282 | 129,134 | 25.4 |
| Whitechapel | 1,877 | 74,462 | 25.2 |
| St. George-in-the-East | 1,338 | 45,546 | 29.0 |
| Limehouse | 1,446 | 57,599 | 25.1 |
| Poplar | 3,522 | 166,697 | 21.1 |
ZYMOTIC DISEASES.
It will be seen on perusing the Table of Mortality, that during
the year the number of deaths from Zymotic Diseases was less
than previous years; and although we must not be too sanguine,
still, 1 think we may lay claim to part of this diminution being
due to the improved sanitary condition of our district. The
fact that only a total of eighty deaths occurred during the year
from the four principal Zymotic Diseases out of a population of
107,000 speaks for itself.