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
St Pancras 1914
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, London, Borough of]
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The school children included in the first of the foregoing two tables have
been brought to the cleansing station by officials of the London County Council
as the Education Authority under the powers conferred upon them by their
General Powers Act, 1904, Sec. 36, and the Children's Act, 1908, Sec. 122.
The children are those found to be verminous upon examination in the Public
Elementary Schools, and a sum of two shillings for one month's course of
cleansings for every child is paid by the County Council to the Borough
Council, according to an agreement between the two Authorities.
During the year the children for whom a month's treatment was paid for by
the London County Council numbered 1,820.
The health-visitor, Miss Smith, has devoted part of her time to visiting the
homes of these verminous children, and helping the families to rid themselves
of these verminous conditions. For this purpose the bedding and bedfellows
in the household have been cleansed in many instances. The visits paid by
Miss Smith for this purpose have numbered 281, but the female staff is quite
inadequate to deal with this problem effectively.
The work done in cleansing verminous clothing, etc., is shown in the following table:—
| Destroyed. | Disinfected. | |
|---|---|---|
| Beds, mattresses and palliasses | 11 | 59 |
| Bolsters and pillows | 1 | 68 |
| Sheets, blankets, and counterpanes | — | 1864 |
| Rugs, mats, cushions, carpets, covers, and curtains | 12 | 17 |
| Wearing apparel | 10 | 93 |
| Elastic goods | — | 55 |
| Skin rugs | — | 21 |
| Sundries | 12 | 20 |
| Total | 46 | 2197 |
These figures include 1803 blankets, 21 skin rugs, 12 bolsters, and 63
articles of wearing apparel which were disinfected for the military authorities.
PUBLIC MORTUARIES AND CORONERS' COURT.
| Number of bodies deposited in the General Mortuary during 1914 | 433 |
| „ „ Infectious „ „ | 6 |
| Total | 439 |
| Inquests hkld during 1914— In the Coroner's Court — General Cases | 351 |
| „ „ Poor Law ,, | 58 |
| Elsewhere in St. Pancras | — |
| Total | 409 |