Accidents
Traffic accidents
187
(337)*
Accidental poisoning
21
(19)
Accidental falls from heights..
92
(119)
Other accidents
207
507
(395)*
(870)*
Suicides
By poisoning
79
(91)
By jumps from heights
104
(162)
By other known means
147
330
(202) (455)
837
(1,325)*
* Figure adjusted after receipt of Coroner's report that was awaited on 31st March 1969.
It might appear from the foregoing figures that the number of registered deaths by accident and suicide decreased appreciably during the year as compared with the preceding year. As mentioned above, however, a direct comparison of the figures for the two years is not possible. The reason for this is that prior to the year under review deaths by accident or suicide were registered upon the issue of a mortuary return. A con- sequence of this practice was that in some cases deaths were registered before the coroner had obtained death reports, and this sometimes led to the necessity, after the death report had been obtained, of altering the cause of death in the death register. This was not a very satis- factory situation, and during the year under review the practice was changed so that only those deaths were registered where the coroner had either completed his findings or had indicated that he was not calling for a death report. The result of this change in practice is that the number of deaths registered is much lower than it would have been had the previous practice been followed. The numbers of deaths by accident or suicide over the past five years have been as follows (though for the reason mentioned above a direct comparison between last year's figures and the figures for previous years is not possible):
Suicide
Female
Male
Accident
Female Total
Male
Total
1965
607
301
908
1966
606
337
943
190
191
111
160
301
1967
560
302
1968
568*
•
302*
862 870*
239
149
351 388
247
208
455
1969
347
160
507
180
150
330
ITI ITI
* Figure adjusted after receipt of Coroner's report that was awaited on 31st March 1969.
179. Full statistics of the causes of the deaths registered may be found in Tables 12 and 45 of the Annual Departmental Report of the Director of Medical and Health Services.
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