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Report of the Medical Officer of Health. 79
The apparatus at Wandsworth has proved most efficient,
and the work there has been carried out in a most satisfactory
manner, but it will be necessary at no distant date to have additional
apparatus and more accommodation than exists at Wands
worth.
During the year, in the whole Borough, 1,130 lots of bedding
were disinfected : 296 in Clapham, 66 in Putney, 278 in Streatham,
85 in Tooting, and 405 in Wandsworth ; in comparison with 922
lots in the Borough in 1900.
At the Wandsworth Station 1,023 lots of bedding were dealt
with, comprising the following: 738 beds, 722 bolsters, 1,856
pillows, 709 mattresses, 892 palliasses, 1,543 sheets, 1,132 quilts,
776 cushions, 6,901 articles of clothing, 2,137 blankets, 1,110
carpets, and 3,956 extra articles • or. in all, 22,472 articles.
61 cases of overcrowding were dealt with during the year,
the majority of these being what might be called family overcrowding,
and in most cases this was remedied without requiring
service of notice. 31 of the cases occurred in Wandsworth, and
this was chiefly in the Fairfield Ward.
1,968 rooms were cleansed and repaired, many of these being
done after infectious disease, while the remainder were done after
service of notice.
694 drains were cleansed and repaired, compared with 655
in 1900.
1,572 water-closets were cleansed and repaired ; an increase
of 254 compared with 1900. There will always be a certain
number of these dealt with each year, as even in some of the
new houses the apparatus, if not attended to occasionally, is soon
put out of order if the occupiers are careless or dirty. In making
a house-to-house inspection I personally saw a large number of
water-closets in a foul condition in properties which had only
been erected a few years. This nuisance was almost entirely
due to the dirty habits of the occupiers. In a small percentage
of the cases the water supply was defective, and in a very few
cases there was no water at all.