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
Bethnal Green 1952
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Bethnal Green Borough]
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SECTION B
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA
(l) Water Supply
The water supply of the Borough is provided by the Metropolitan
Water Board and has been satisfactory as regards quality and quantity.
Bacteriological examinations and chemical analyses are carried
out by the Metropolitan Water Board at frequent intervals. The
water is not known to have any plumbo-solvent action. No complaint
of contamination was received during the year.
Notice was sent to the Metropolitan Water Board of observed
waste in 117 cases.
There are 5 wells in the Borough, as follows:-
| Attached to Council's Public Baths | 1 |
| Attached to a local hospital | 1 |
| Supplementary supply for Industrial | |
| purposes | 3 |
During the year 256 new premises were certified as having a
proper and sufficient water supply.
(2) Sanitary Inspection of the Area
Table 2, which follows, gives a summary of the work of the
sanitary inspectors. The major portion of the work was concerned
with insanitary conditions. It was not found possible nor practicable
to re-institute a system of house-to-house inspection and housing
inspections were carried out only on complaint followed, of course,
by re-inspections where necessary.
Following the 3,142 complaints of insanitary conditions sanitary
defects were found requiring the service of Intimation Notices in
2,421 cases. Of these statutory notices were required in 1,134
instances and legal proceedings were instituted in 106 cases. The
main types of defects found are shown in Table 3.