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

Hayes and Harlington 1958

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]

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Table: The table shows that there is very little scope for further progress in this direction and the abolition of cesspools will depend on owners accepting the Council's offer to undertake a connection to the sewer on payment by the owner of 50% of the cost A similar grant is also made where water closets are substituted for pail closets

The table shows that there is very little scope for further progress in this direction and the abolition of cesspools will depend on owners accepting the Council's offer to undertake a connection to the sewer on payment by the owner of 50% of the cost A similar grant is also made where water closets are substituted for pail closets

Cesspool drainagePail Closets
A Premises within 100 ft of an existing accessible sewer84
B. Premises within 100 ft. of a possible sewer extension3-
C. Premises where no sewer is likely to become available . .2118
D. Premises likely to be demolished soon-1
Totals3223

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four small private disposal plants are in use,
Pail closets and cesspools are emptied regularly by
the Engineer & Surveyor's Department.
The practice of clearing stopped drains free of charge,
where this can be achieved simply by rodding or plunging,
was continued and nuisances from this cause thereby reduced
to a minimum.
Keeping of Animals.
Byelaws under Section 81 of the Public Health Act to
control the keeping of pigs horses and cattle are in force
They deal with the structural condition and cleanliness of
premises in which these animals are kept boiling of swill
drainage the storage of manure etc and have proved of
considerable assistance to the Public Health Inspectors in
their efforts to minimise nuisances from this source The
prevention of nuisances however is of less importance than
the prevention of disease By preventing conditions
under which flies breed the risk of diseases which they are
known to spread viz dysentery, typhoid paratyphoid and
epidemic diarrhoea and poliomyelitis which they are suspected
of spreading can be reduced to a minimum
21