London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1911
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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The following Table shows the number of disinfections carried out for various diseases during the year:—
| Nature of Infection. | Rooms Disinfected. | Premises Disinfected. | Disinfections at Wood Lane | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarlet Fever | 262 | 211 | 223 | |||||
| Diphtheria | 233 | 203 | 208 | |||||
| Enteric Fever | 22 | 21 | 23 | |||||
| Measles | 145 | 90 | 20 | |||||
| Consumption | 174 | 137 | 105 | |||||
| Other Diseases | 120 | 99 | 98 | |||||
| Totals | 956 | 761 | 677 | |||||
| Year. | Weight of Articles sent from Premises. | Number of Premises. | ||||||
| Tons. | Cwts. | Qrs. | Lbs. | |||||
| 1908 | 33 | 16 | 3 | 18 | 795 | |||
| 1909 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 23 | 789 | |||
| 1910 | 27 | 7 | 3 | 12 | 638 | |||
| 1911 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 677 | |||
The following number of articles was dealt with at the Wood Lane Disinfecting Station during the year:—
| Articles disinfected only | 9,703 |
| Articles disinfected and washed free of charge | 3,459 |
| Articles washed and charged for | 522 |
| Total articles dealt with in 1911 | 13,684 |
The Council have also undertaken to remove soiled dressings, free of charge, from St. Luke's
House, an institution for persons in the last stages of consumption, where adequate provision is not
made for the destruction of surgical dressings. In accordance with the undertaking given, dressings
amounting to a total weight of 1 ton 4 cwts. have been removed from St. Luke's House during the
year and destroyed at Wood Lane.
VERMINOUS PERSONS.
In place of providing their own cleansing station, the Council have hitherto done no more
than make an arrangement with the Board of Guardians under which verminous persons can be
cleansed at the expense of the Council, at the Able-bodied Workhouse in Mary Place. The
number of persons cleansed under this arrangement is a negligible quantity, and only amounted
to 34 during the year 1911. The use of premises attached to a workhouse cannot be properly
offered except to the semi-destitute inmates of common lodging-houses, and for school children the
use of such premises is, needless to say, out of the question. Should the Council erect their own
station, the facilities offered will become widely known to adults through the school children who are