[Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough City & Borough.

  • Peterborough (England). City & Borough Council.
Date:
1895
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1895] / Medical Officer of Health, Peterborough City & Borough. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    D m RBOROUGH. , ,.ifc .tint- .Jt^lrtluaHk. jIIIl .illk- dill., .iltlt. .lilt., .illli. iitlli..iIIiljlilli.iilHu .illti. riUk. .till., alllkjli. .illli. .lib. ..lit.. .illli. alll. .illl.. ,ilh.. jllu. .ill.Ilk. .illli..illl. .till. .Hi., ,lMl.J MEDICAL OFFICER’S ANNUAL REPORT, 1895 ...... ■ 'ff tr w ** ny yunfry nr ww wrw nr w 'in' nr ri»rw nr nr ... •w'nmr^tir -w iurnr •nnrnr nr nr •»» Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, Having only been appointed Medical Officer of Health, in September last, to till the vacancy caused by the lamented death of the late Dr. W. E. l’aley, my report must necessarily | be somewhat brief. During the past year, there have been registered, 764 births and 418 deaths, from which latter total must be deducted 30, as the number of persons dying, either in the Infirmary or in the Workhouse, hut not actually residents of the district. These figures give the following results, calculated per 1,000 of the population. General Birth Rate .. .. 27-99 ,, Death ,, .. .. 14-02 very satisfactory figures, compared with the latest returns for five years in the whole of England and Wales which were 30-5 and 18-7 respectively. The detailed moitality as shown by the accompanying tables is as follows :— North Ward. East Ward. South Ward. Area in Acres 1030 510 278 Population (to middle of 1895).. 14938 9332 3028 Births 396 251 101 Deaths 185 128 44 General Birth Rate 26-51 27-53 33-35 General Death Rate 12-31 13-71 14-53 Zymotic Diseases Total Deaths 14 13 2 Zymotic Diseases rate per 100 .. •93 1-5 •65 The only notable features of these returns are the high birth rate, and the comparative freedom from Zymotic Diseases in the South Ward. During the past year, the Borough has been remarkably free from any Epidemic of Infectious Disease; the number of such diseases notified was 98, whilst the deaths registered were 29, equal to 105 per 1,000. During the three months that I have held office, several cases of Typhoid Fever have been reported, only one however fortunately proving fatal, and in that case, the disease had undoubtedly been contracted away from home. In another instance the origin of the disease was traced to impure well water, and steps were at once taken to prevent its being again used for drinking purposes. There has not been a single case of Small Pox during the past year. Two cases of Diphtheria proved fatal during my tenure of office, but although every investigation was made, no very definite cause could be discovered. 38 deaths from Phthisis have been registered in 1895, being at the rate of 1-03 per 1,000. The death rate from Phthisis is often taken as an indication of the Sanitary con¬ dition of any particular locality ; as 1-4 per 1,000 is the lowest rate that has ever been recorded in London, we may take it, I think, on that basis, that the Borough is in a healthy state. At the same time I should like to see every room thoroughly disinfected in which a fatal case has occurred. Since entering upon my duties I have endeavoured to make a thorough and Systematic inspection of the whole Borough ; and as a general rule I can report that it is in a most Sanitary condition, Goodyer’s and Gray’s yards being a striking exception. These yards are certainly in a most de¬ plorable state; but I sincerely hope that the prompt action which the Corporation is now taking with reference to these particular localities, will soon result in their being rendered fit habitations for the poorer classes. With regard to the Water supply, I cannot, I am sorry, report quite so favorably, there are many houses in which the old cesspool and well water arrangement still exists; should Typhoid Fever occur in any of these houses, it must inevitably spread to the rest of the inmates. It seems like shutting the stable door after the horse is stolen, to wait for the occurrence of such an outbreak before taking action. When the wacer is laid on for domestic purposes, there is often no flushing apparatus for the closets ; even in such thickly populated parts of the town as Narrow street. The inevitable bad smells follow owing to an insufficient supply of water in the drains to carry off the sewage. Moreover I am credibly informed, that where water, acting under notice from the Authorities, has been laid on, the supply has subsequently been quietly cut off. To remedy this defect, I would suggest a house to house inspection with regard to the water supply, to be followed by vigorous proceedings where the above-named evils are found to exist. In several instances, we found houses in a most filthy and neglected condition, notice was at once served upon the oecu- pieis to cleanse and purify their dwellings. In one case the head of the house had to be summoned, and a small fine in¬ flicted by the bench, before compliance with our orders could be obtained. Toe publicity attaching to his appearance at the police court, has acted as a most salutary warning upon those who do not appreciate the beneficial effects of soap and water. I can only reiterate my late predecessors opinion as to the pressing need of an isolation hospital for Infectious Diseases, notification, without the means of isolating, and thus stopp¬ ing an outbreak at its first onset, is almost valueless. Accompanying my report is that of the Inspector of Nuis¬ ances, I have to express my great indebtedness to him for his aid and assistance, lendered doubly valuable by his intimate knowledge of the drainage system of the district, in investi¬ gating the cause of any outbreak of disease. I have the honor to remain, Mr. Mayor and Gentlemen, Your obedient Servant, R. W. JOLLY, Medical Officer of Health.