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14
Provision of Insulin.
22 patients received assistance during the year, the cost to the Borough Council
was £83 10s. Od.
Islington Crematorium.
There were 93 cremations during the year at the Council's Crematorium at
East Finchley. This represents the highest number of cremations in any one year
since the Crematorium was opened in 1937.
Public Mortuary.
During the year 1946 thirteen bodies were received pending burial. The
Coroner's Court was not used, neither were inquests nor autopsies carried out in the
Court.
The major proportion of Islington housing accommodation was constructed
during the nineteenth century and a good deal of it has now attained a "century"
or more. In consequence of this age and because during the war normal repair work
was, to all intents and purposes, in suspense, there is a vast amount of dilapidation
work to be done. In addition, much property was also damaged as a result of enemy
action, which still further increased the repair work due on those damaged premises
which were left standing.
With the post-war demobilisation and the return of many evacuees to Islington
the population has increased considerably since the end of the war. Problems of
housing, sanitary repair and overcrowding are therefore acute, and are made still
more so by shortages of labour and materials to enable work to be done.
The volume of sanitary complaints arriving in the Public Health Department
is approximately treble the pre-war figure. All these complaints must be dealt
with, and with a depleted Sanitary Inspector staff (varying from four to six below
establishment) it has only been possible to deal with the more urgent cases with a
minimum of follow-up after the initial complaint has been made.
On account of the suspension of the qualifying examinations for Sanitary
Inspectors during the war period, it will probably be some time before Sanitary
Inspectors are available to all local authorities in sufficient numbers. The Public
Health Department is therefore working under a severe handicap in its efforts to
ameliorate some of the bad housing conditions under which many residents are
living.
Summary of Work done by District Sanitary Inspectors.
During the year 34,044 inspections (including re-inspections) were carried
out by the District Sanitary Inspectors, made up as follows:—
House to house inspections 1,268
Other premises inspected 7,362
Re-inspections, calls made, etc. 25,414
34,044
SECTION C.
SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE AREA.