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61
Report of the Medical Officer of Health.

Cleansing of
verminous
rooms or
premises.
* 1,900 of these cleansed by owners.
In 1907, yet further powers were obtained in the Council's General Powers Act of that year.
These powers were much in advance of anything in any previous Act and provided for the cleansing of
school children and of the inmates of common lodging-houses found to be verminous. In the latter
case power was given to detain and convey to suitable premises for the purpose of cleansing, any inmate
of a common lodging-house being verminous and failing to comply with a twenty-four hour notice
requiring him to be cleansed. Section 38 of the Act empowered the Council to enter into arrangements
and agreements with local authorities for the cleansing of children and inmates of common lodginghouses,
and agreements under this section have since been made as mentioned below. The Children
Act of 1908 made further provision for the cleansing of school children and section 122 of this Act,
giving somewhat greater facility of action than section 36 of the General Powers Act, 1907, has mainly
been used in London.
General
Powers Act,
1907, sects.
36-40.
Under the provisions of section 38 of the General Powers Act, 1907, the County Council has
entered into agreements where possible with the various sanitary authorities for the cleansing of verminous
school children. The conditions of agreement are as follows :—
1. "That the place of treatment of children shall be entirely distinct from any establishment
used for the isolation of suspected cases of infectious disease contacts."
2. That the exclusive use of the baths for the cleansing of children shall be allowed
on certain days."
3. "That the cleansing station shall be in a convenient position and that the children
shall be efficiently supervised with female attendants for the treatment of girls."
4. "That a payment at the rate of 2s. per child shall be made to the local authority in
respect of the cleansing of children infested with vermin, the payment to cover any number
of attendances by such child at the cleansing station within a period of one calendar month
from the date upon which the child is first cleansed there and to be irrespective of the number
of baths required within that period before the child can reasonably be regarded as cleansed."
The work of cleansing children was undertaken at the stations of the City, Stoke Newington,
Hackney, Poplar, Bermondsey,Camberwell, St. Marylebone, Hampstead and Woolwich Sanitary Authorities.
The City Corporation cleansed children without making a charge to the Council. In addition, the
Council established stations at the Finch-street, Chaucer, Bath-street, Fountain-road and Sedlescomberoad
schools. During the year the school nurses examined 251,592 children, of whom 14,893 were found
to be verminous and a warning card was sent to the parents of each child. Of the children found
verminous, 4,976 returned to school cleansed, statutory notices under section 122 of the Children Act,
1908, were served in 9,917 cases, 3,682 children were cleansed at the L.C.C. stations and 1,517 at the
sanitary authority stations. In the case of 285 children who relapsed into a verminous condition the
parents were prosecuted.
Cleansing of
children.
When a school child is found verminous, opportunity is taken at once to inform the local medical
officer so that he, if necessary, may arrange for the cleansing of the home under the provisions of the
General Powers Act, 1904. Local authorities generally have willingly co-operated with the Council in
this matter, though as the result of experience gained, it has been found desirable recently to modify in
some degree the mode of procedure. A considerable amount of work has been done, however, and
it is hoped that the new arrangement will result in increased activity in this direction.
Cleansing of
homes.
As mentioned in the annual report for 1910, the principle adopted by the Council with regard to
the cleansing of adults from common lodging-houses was that the sanitary authorities should cleanse,
of charge, any persons sent for that purpose to the cleansing station by the County Council from
Cleansing of
adults.