[Report 1893] / Medical Officer of Health, St Marychurch Local Board.

  • St. Marychurch (England). Local Board.
Date:
1893
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1893] / Medical Officer of Health, St Marychurch Local Board. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    I ANNUAL REPOET CF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF TO THE HEALTH ST. MARYCHURCH LOCAL BOARD, 1893. k Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,—I am pleased to he able to congratulate you on the sanitary experiences of the past year. The Hospital for Infectious Diseases has advanced another stage, and now we only wait for the consent of the Local Government Board to begin building. The plans have been approved of, and, to a certain extent, the site, and so we may expect to be at work in 1894. I find that it is just ten years ago since 1 first drew your atteutionn to this desideratum, and since then 1 have again and again spoken and written on the subject. “ Every thing comes to him who waits,” and so perhaps I yet may see the Hospital built and ready. Another matter of importance to a seaboard district is the possession of a Mortuary. Repeatedly have coroner’s juries passed resolutions respecting the urgent necessity for providing this accommodation, and I am glad to say that at last a temporary resting place more reverent to the dead than an empty stable has been arranged. I proposed to examine and report on the Barton part of your district, and indeed I partially accom¬ plished the work ; but circumstances arose which rendered it advisable to inspect Princes Street first, and this has been done and certainly not too soon. Some of the property is in very fair condition, hut on the other hand there was a good deal that needed looking after. Just like at Plainmoor, the fowls and ducks were in number out of all proportion to the size of the yard, and only too often in a disgusting state of filth. I do not approve of fowls being kept close to houses,and shall endeavour to preserve to the human inhabitants the 159 square feet of yard space to which they are entitled ; but I should have thought that even the ducks and fowls would grow quicker, and look healthier if kept a little cleaner. Another defect in Princes Street was the almost universal absence of a water supply to the closet. These matters are in hand and will be seen to The number of births registered in 1893 was 130. This is at the rate of 19 per thousand. The number of deaths was 102, or 15'3 per thousand ; the population being 6,050. This is somewhat above the average for the previous eight years. The causes will be seen from the following tables :— Death Rate for St. Mary church, as required by the. Local Government Board, 1893. NAME OF DISEASE. UNDER 5 YEARS Small Pox. 0 Scarlatina. C Diphtheria. 0 Membranous Croup .. 1 {Typhus .. .. 0 Kn teric or Typhoid .. 0 Continued .. .. 0 Relapsing .. .. 0 Puerperal .. .. 0 Cholera . 0 Erysipelas. 0 Measles .. .. .. 2 Whooping Cough .. 0 Diarrhoea and Dysentery 0 Rheumatic Fever .. .. 0 Ague . 0 Phthisis . 0 Bronchitis, Pleurisy, and Pneumonia .. .. 1 Heart Disease .. 0 Injuries . 0 All other Diseases .. 21 25 Total fo 1893 OVER 5 YEARS 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 11 7 7 3 4i 77 r These figures should be compared with those of previous years in the following table :— Causes of death in St. Marychu ch for ten years. Causes. ’84 '85 ’8b '87 ’88 ’89 90 ’91 0 0 0 0 Small Pox . .. . Scarlatina. Diphtheria. Membranous Croup {Typhus.. . Enteric or Typhoid . Continued . Relapsing . Puerperal . Cholera . 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 92’ 93 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Erysipelas. 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 Measles . 1 2 1 0 6 2 0 0 5 3 Whooping Cough 3 4 0 0 1 0 6 1 1 0 Diarrhoea & Dysentery 2 0 1 2 1 0 4 0 1 0 Rtieumatic Fever 2 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 Ague . 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Phthisis . 5 6 10 10 6 4 6 9 3 11 Bronchitis, Pleurisy, and Pneumonia 15 12 11 18 20 12 33 17 33 8 Heart Disease 6 10 7 10 14 6 9 16 1 7 Injuries . 5 0 4 1 3 0 3 1 2 3 All other Diseases .. 39 72 47 45 53 43 56 54 65 69 78 108 81 89 105 69 120 98 118 102 During the past year not a single case of typhoid or diphtheria lias been notified ; but there has been a good deal of scarlet fever, mostly of a very mild type. I can’t help thinking that some of the parents are to be held responsible for the multiplicity of scarlet fever cases ; if mild, the children are allowed to roam about and distribute the disease among their play¬ fellows ; but if the type of disease is severe then the patients are nursed properly. The zymotic death rate is 75, a low figure ; but not so low as in some years. The causes were measles, 3, and croup, 1. Ten deaths occurred among visitors, viz.Phthisis 3, heart l, whooping cough 2, influenza 2, other diseases 2. The ages at which death took place are as follow :— Under one year, 16 ; one and under five, 9; five and under fifteen, 5; fifteen and under twenty-five, 7; twenty-five and under sixty-five, 35; and sixty-five and upwards, 39 ; total 102. According to the returns of the Poor Law Medical Officer, 148 new cases of sickness were attended by him. The diseases were erysipelas 2, and 154 of “all other diseases.” The County Police made a test raid among the milk dealers, and one case of adulteration was detected. The usual general inspections have been made, but special attention has been paid to Plainmoor, Princes Street, and Barton. The bake houses and slaughter houses have been inspected, and the water from the public wells tested and found satisfactory. I have failed to find any cases where the Factory and Workshops Act 1878—91 (outworkers) will apply, although notices have been issued and enquiries made. During the past year 16 new houses have been inspected and. passed as fit for occupation ; 210 old houses attended to in various ways; 165 w.c.’s supplied with water ; and 39 dairies and 24 cowsheds inspected by your Sanitary Inspector, Mr. Bowden, who thus enumerates a long list of sanitary operations. I remain, Mr. Chairman and Gentleman, Your obedient servant, PAUL Q. KARKEEK, M.R.C.S., & L.S.A Medical Officer of Health. Torquay, Jan. 11th, 1894. 102.