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
Holborn 1930
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Holborn Borough]
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82
Dampness in Houses.
Dampness was found in only three houses, due to temporary nuisances which
were remedied.
Lighting and Ventilation.
One child lived in a semi-basement flat, and although the lighting was not
good, the flat was well built and the street and courtyard adjoining fairly wide,
so that lighting and ventilation compared not unfavourably with upper floors in
narrow streets and small courtyards. In two other cases the lighting was poor.
Most of the remaining homes were well ventilated and the lighting good;
in no case was ventilation or lighting markedly unsatisfactory.
Overcrowding and Sleeping Accommodation.
There was no evidence of legal overcrowding in any of the houses; this
standard is notably low however. The sleeping arrangements are given in the
following table:—
| No. ofRheu-matic Chil-dren | Separate Room | Separate Bed in Living Room | Separate Bed in Room shared with | Bed shared with | Bed shared in living room with | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adults | Children | Adults and Children | Adults | Children | Adults and Children | Child | Adults and Children | ||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| 64 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| 61 | 6 | 5 | 23 | 28 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
* Exclusive of two cases where wrong addresses given, and one where the patient died shortly
after the date of notification.
It will be seen that only six children had a separate room, twenty-three had a
separate bed in a shared room; twenty-eight shared a bed, six of these with more
than one person; seven children had a bed in the living room, a very unsatisfactory
arrangement, seeing the child is disturbed by the late and uncertain hours of
going to bed kept by the rest of the family, and also the possibility of disturbance
at an early or earlyish hour in the morning.
In some instances where beds were shared, the reason given was the small
size of the rooms which made it difficult to get other beds in; whether the bunk
bed is a possible solution of this difficulty is not clear, ashore it is an innovation
and therefore not popular. Moreover, it is not obtainable at many shops and
second-hand stalls, and its existence is overlooked. It is not hygienic for anyone
to share a bed,