Nineteenth century mortality at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children,Glasgow

Abstract

Background and aims

Since Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children opened in 1882, significant advances have been made in child health. Our aim was to investigate the hospital mortality that occurred in the last decade of the 19th century at Royal Hospital for Sick Children.

Methods and results

Hospital mortality records for the decades, 1890–1899, were collected from the Archives of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children. Data were extracted from the hospital inpatient records and the pathology records. In the decade 1890–1899, there were 731 hospital deaths. The main cause of death at that time in the 19th Century was infection, particularly of the respiratory tract. The age at which death occurred was analysed and the recorded cause were analysed as was the distance patients travelled to the hospital. The ratio of boys to girls and length of inpatient stay was similar to that seen in the hospital currently.

Conclusion

This study records the mortality in a children’s hospital in a large developing industrial city in the 19th century as experienced in a children’s hospital.