M 217
Deaths
Before registering a death the Deputy Registrar or Assistant Registrar must be satisfied that the cause of death given is the true cause and in case of doubt it is his duty to institute or cause to be instituted immediate enquiries with a view to ascertaining the true cause of death.
The authorities certifying the cause of death are:---
(a) the medical practitioners in attendance during the last illness whether in hospital practice, dispensary practice, or private practice.
(b) the Medical Superintendents of the Tung Wah, Tung Wah Eastern and Kwong Wah Hospitals for bodies where there has been no registered medical practitioner attending.
(c) the Health Officer, Urban Council, for bodies found in houses and for which he is called for diagnosis.
(d) the Coroner for all bodies examined at the Public Mortuaries-including medico-legal cases and bodies dumped in the street or left at convents for disposal.
There were 26,336 deaths registered among the civilian population during 1936 (including 976 stillbirths) (22,159 in 1935), and the following table shows the number certified during 1936 by the various authorities certifying:
Authority certifying cause of death Non-Chinese Number of Cases Percentage of the whole Chinese Number of Cases Percentage of the whole Medical practitioners in Attendance 216 91.52 14,683 56.2 Medical Officer of Health 13 0.1 990 3.8 Tung Wah Hospital 804 3.1 Tung Wah Eastern Hospital 1,330 5.1 Kwong Wah Hospital Coroner from information received from the M.O. i/c Mortuaries 20 8.47 5,916 22.6 Asst. Registrars, N. T. 2,384 9.1 Total 236 26,120Page 615
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