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
St James's 1872
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St James's, Westminster]
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32
So that you see our per centage of the deaths to
the births is greater than all London, although it is
less than any large town. At the same time it
demands investigation.
In order to discover where our infant death rate
is greatest, I have counted the deaths in one year in
every district of the Parish separately, and find the
result as follows:
Deaths under the Yeae in Disteicts of the Parish or St. James, "Westminster.
| Deaths. | Per centage. | Population. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. James's Sq. Div. | 39 | 19 | 10,443 |
| Golden Square Div. | 40 | 26 | 12,855 |
| Workhouse | 14 | 16 | |
| Berwick Street Div. | 56 | 35 | 10,279 |
| 149 | 96 | 33,587 |
It will at once be be seen from these figures that
the largest mortality of these babes fall upon the
Berwick Street district, the most populous and over
crowded of the three districts; whilst the St. James's
Square district has the least.
I have often in the course of my Annual Reports
had to call your attention to the health of the Berwick
Street district. Whilst the deaths of St. James's
Square is 14 in the thousand; of Golden Square 21
in the thousand; that of Berwick Street division is
still 25 in the 1,000. The cause of this mortality
is undoubtedly overcrowding; and this is the cause
of infant mortality as well as of other diseases, such