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 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hayes]
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A 50% grant is also available for the conversion of pail
closets to water closets.
The following table shows the number of premises still using cesspools and pail closets:-
| Cesspool drainage | Pail Closets | |
|---|---|---|
| A. Premises within 100 ft. of an existing accessible sewer | 2 | |
| Premises within 100 ft. of a possible sewer extension | 4 | - |
| C. Premises where no sewer is likely to become available | 16 | 12 |
| D. Premises likely to be demolished soon | 2 | 2 |
| Totals | 30 | 16 |
Four small private sewage 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 diseases, which they are
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