[Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Chichester City.

  • Chichester (England). City Council.
Date:
1898
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: [Report 1898] / Medical Officer of Health, Chichester City. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    3/6 (page 5)
    the same increase of the population as that of 1897 over that of 1896; the deaths for the 1st quarter were 51, with a death-rate of 17-7 per 1000, per annum, those for the 2nd quarter were 29, with a death-rate of 10-0, those for the 3rd quarter were 38, with a death-rate of 13-2, those for the 4th quarter were 40, with a death-rate of 13.9, and that for the whole year being only 13-7 per 1000 per annum, this being an exceedingly low rate; that for 1897 was 17'5, and that for 1896 was 185, and for 1895 was 14-2. The average death-rate for the 33 largest towns for 1898 was 19'0, and for the whole of England and Wales, according to the last Report, was 17’4 per 1000, per annum. The following table shows the ages at which the deaths occurred ; Under 1 year ... ... 30 1 year and under 5 years ... 14 5 years i) 15 „ ... 9 15 „ 1) 25 „ ... 12 25 „ yy 65 „ ... 46 65 „ and upwards ... 47 158 under 5 years . 44 The deaths of persons between 60 and 70 years of age have been 20, those between 70 and 80 have been 20, and between 80 and 90 there were 17, and 1 at 92 years; these making up the number of 58 deaths of persons of 60 years of age and upwards. There were 17 deaths at the Infirmary during the year of persons from a distance, 4 of whom died of Typhoid Fever, and 12 of persons within the district, and there were 12 deaths at the Workhouse, 5 of them being between 60 and 70 years of age, and 5 between 80 and 90, and 2 infants. There were 29 deaths during the year at the West Sussex County Asylum, 27 of them being of persons coming from beyond this district, and 2 from within it. The deaths from Infectious and other Zymotic diseases during the year have been 29, as under: Phthisis Typhoid Fever ... Diarrhoea Whooping Cough 8 13 4 2 Erysipelas Diphtheria Scarlet Fever Measles ... 1 1 0 0—29 The Death-rate of the Infectious Diseases alone has been 13 per 1000, per annum; that of 1897 being 1-17. There were 128 Notifications of Infectious Diseases, consisting of the following cases: Typhoid Fever ... 99, those for 1897 being 129, and for 1896, 117 Scarlet Fever ... 4, ,, „ 7, ,, ,, 20 Diphtheria ... 5, ,, ,, 6, ,, ,, 18 Erysipelas ... 4, ,, „ 4, ,, ,, 11 there having been 14 cases of Typhoid Fever, and 1 case of Scarlet Fever taken into the Infirmary from out-lying districts, and 1 case of Scarlet Fever brought into the City from Westbourne. There were 76 houses affected in the 99 cases of Typhoid Fever, 58 of which were drained, and 18 not drained; and 44 were supplied with the Corporation water, and 32 with well water. There were 101 houses affected in the 129 cases of Typhoid Fever during 1897. There was a further visitation in the City of Typhoid Fever during the summer, commencing at the end of May and extending through June, and gradually subsiding in July and the following 2 months; and it will be observed that, although the number of Notifications is 30 less than those of 1897, the number of deaths was greater, there having been a more severe type of the disease in many instances. With regard to cases of this disease being admitted into the Infirmary from out-lying districts, I may state that I have lately had some correspondence with the Committee of Management, and also with the Westbourne Rural District Council on the subject, in which I emphatically protested against this Institution being made the “ Isolation Hospital ” for the neighbouring districts of West Hampnett and Westbourne, simply because they do not provide one for themselves; the Infirmary being a general hospital, and intended for the reception of all cases, medical and surgical alike, it is very undesirable that Infectious Diseases should be brought in there from a distance, and I hope that the result of my remonstrance will be that the Sanitary Authorities of these districts will see the desirability of each providing a proper hospital for itself.