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63
repairs, e.g., outside painting and partly refiooring the Court, will not
be completed until 1935.
The committee may be congratulated on creating a transformation
of this important public health service. In the past the condition and
management of public mortuary services in most districts have not
received a great deal of attention. The subject is not an attractive one
and receives no publicity unless there be some feature to criticise. But
the public are becoming more sensitive in the matter of the disposal of
the dead. This may partly be due to influences connected with the care
bestowed by the Imperial War Graves Commission on the resting places
of those who fell in the war or from the large number (20 to 30 per day)
of normally healthy people who meet their death on the road and whose
loss brings sudden grief to so many families. The bodies of all who suffer
accidental death must be taken to public mortuaries for the purposes
of identification and inquest. There is thus unfortunately a growing
acquaintance with public mortuaries by many who never dreamed they
would visit such places.
The lady members of the committee had for some years expressed
dissatisfaction with the arrangements at HorSeferrv Road, and certain
of their number, in particular, the late Mrs. Lionel Harris, had presented
articles such as brass ornaments to beautify a setting hitherto ineffably
dreary. On considering the situation the committee was greatly assisted
by hearing the views of the Coroner, Dr. Ingleby Oddie, Sir Bernard
Spilsbury and other pathologists who attend frequently at the premises.
Attention was directed to certain requirements and they may be briefly
enumerated. The need for (1) exclusive accommodation for a jury and
for Coroner's officer; (2) waiting rooms for witnesses and police;
(3) a room where pathologists, counsel and other professional witnesses
could consult in private ; (4) a laboratory for carrying out special tests,
microscopy, etc. ; (5) adequate accommodation for making post-mortem
examinations ; (6) modern methods for depositing and retaining bodies
pending inquest or burial—a need acutely felt in summer; (7) proper
arrangements whereby relatives or others may view the dead for identification
; (8) an appropriate resting place of the nature of a chapelle
ardente for the dead while awaiting burial.
These needs were met by converting the resident quarters of the
mortuary keeper on the ground floor into five rooms, two for witnesses,
one as room for Coroner's officer, one for police and another for
professional witnesses. A private entrance for the Coroner was provided
with direct access to his room. A laboratory for pathologists was fitted
up with sinks, benches and other equipment of a modern laboratory.