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
City of Westminster 1927
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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74
children from the boroughs of Battersea, Chelsea, Holborn, Kensington,
Lambeth, Paddington, St. Pancras, St. Marylebone, and the City of
London.
There were among Westminster children, 498 cases of head lice treated,
6 of body lice and 13 of scabies. In all these cases the clothing was
disinfected together with the bedding from their homes, amounting in all to
442 articles. Children from the above-mentioned boroughs treated for
similar conditions were as follows : 251 for head lice and 13 for scabies.
The number of attendances of these children for baths at the station
was 1,204.
The following table shows the total number of individuals treated at the station for verminous conditions:— Table IX.
| 1927. | Head lice. | Body lice. | Scabies. | Total. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Children | 756 | 8* | 26 | 790 |
| Adults | 7 | 328 | 16 | 351 |
| 703 | 336 | 42 | 1,141 |
* Two were under school age.
All the lice and scabies cases were dealt with at the station. Table X.
| 1923. | 1924. | 1925. | 1926. | 1927. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooms | 742 | 984 | 1,081 | 932 | 890 |
| Articles disinfected | 21,933 | 23,382 | 22,833 | 21,775 | 12,201 |
| Articles washed | 8,079 | 4,862 | 5,142 | 5,550 | 4,841 |
| Articles destroyed | 173 | 198 | 265 | 372 | 152 |
| Books disinfected * | 215 | 425 | 454 | 166 | 48 |
| Vehicles ,, | 3 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 7 |
| Offices and business premises | — | — | 21 | 25 | 9 |
* School books, 1; library books, 32; private books, 15.
The motor van during 1927 ran 4,172 miles and carried 3,549 cwt. of
goods, the highest amount in any one day being 31 cwt. The petrol
consumption was 451 gallons, equal to 9.2 miles per gallon.
Mortuaries.
The number of bodies removed to the Council's mortuaries under
older of the Coroner, or to await burial, was 357—in one instance on
account of infectious disease.