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
Heston and Isleworth 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Heston and Isleworth]
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| No. of Stillbirths | Rate per 1,000 total births | |
|---|---|---|
| 1945-49 | 198 | 23.8 |
| 1950-54 | 129 | 20.6 |
| 1955 | 20 | 16.9 |
| 1956 | 24 | 19.1 |
| 1957 | 15 | 11.4 |
| 1958 | 17 | 13.3 |
| 1959 | 18 | 13.9 |
This loss of potential lives remains a problem and until more is known of the
causes little further improvement can be expected.
DEATHS. The deaths of residents of the Borough during 1959 were 1,147 (590
male, 557 female). This represents a death rate for the Borough of 10.9 per 1,000
population. The deaths in any area are influenced by the sex and age distribution of
the population, and to permit of a true comparison, the Registrar-General calculates
for each local sanitary authority area what is called an area comparability factor.
When this is applied to the above Borough rate, the result is 11. 1 as compared with
a death rate of 11.6 per 1,000 population for England and Wales.
The Registrar-General has classified the deaths registered during the year,
and the details are given in Tables II, III, and IV. The cause of death was certified
by the Coroner in 248 cases.
A progressive change is taking place in the percentage age distribution of deaths, and this is shown in the following table:-
| 1910-14 | 1945 49 | 1950-54 | 1959 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | 21.8 | 5.3 | 2.4 | 1.8 |
| 1-4 years | 8.4 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| 5-14 years | 3.8 | 2.1 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 15 - 24 years | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| 25 - 64 years | 30.8 | 33.0 | 31.6 | 27.3 |
| 65 years and over | 31.5 | 56.7 | 64.3 | 69.3 |
The chief causes of death in males were heart and circulatory diseases; cancer;
bronchitis and pneumonia; cerebral haemorrhage, in females the chief causes of death
were heart and circulatory diseases; cerebral haemorrhage; cancer; bronchitis and
pneumonia. In females 53.5 per cent of deaths occured at age 75 years and over as
compared with 34.4 per cent in males.
The Secretary of the Road Safety Committee informs me that during 1959 there
were 813 road accidents which resulted in 15 deaths, serious injury to 158 persons
and slight injury to 758 persons. All these figures show little change from the
corresponding figures for 1958.
The number of deaths from motor vehicle and other accidents in Borough residents during the last ten years is shown below:-
| Year | Motor Vehicle Accidents Age in years | Other Accidents Age in years | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-4 | 5-14 | 15-64 | 65 + | All ages | 0-4 | 5-14 | 15-64 | 65 + | All ages | |
| 1950 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 17 | 26 |
| 1951 | - | - | 9 | 3 | 12 | - | 1 | 4 | 13 | 18 |
| 1952 | - | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | - | - | 3 | 12 | 15 |
| 1953 | - | - | 9 | 8 | 17 | - | - | 5 | 15 | 20 |
| 1954 | - | 1 | 9 | 3 | 13 | 1 | - | 9 | 13 | 23 |
| 1955 | - | - | 7 | 7 | 14 | - | 1 | 4 | 13 | 18 |
| 1956 | - | 2 | 9 | 6 | 17 | - | - | 11 | 8 | 19 |
| 1957 | 1 | - | 5 | 4 | 10 | 2 | - | 1 | 15 | 18 |
| 1958 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 4 | 17 | - | - | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| 1959 | - | 1 | 5 | 8 | 14 | 1 | - | . 7 | 8 | 16 |
| Total | 4 | 10 | 74 | 57 | 145 | 6 | 3 | 57 | 123 | 189 |
It should be noted that 39.3 per cent of these road deaths occurred in persons
aged 65 years and over as compared with 65.1 per cent for the same age group in deaths
from other accidents.
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