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
Orpington 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Orpington]
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14
Sanitary Inspection of the Area.
The whole district comes under surveillance by the Sanitary
Inspectors, either by routine visiting or in the following up of
complaints. A detailed summary of the work in the area during
the year is shown in the Appendix, from which I have extracted
the following figures :
HOUSING.
| Number of Inspections | 3,617 |
| Number of Premises in which defects were found | 918* |
INFECTIOUS DISEASES.
| Number of Inspections | 384 |
FOOD PREMISES.
| Number of Inspections | 2,198 |
| Number of Premises in which defects were found | 101 |
FACTORIES AND WORKSHOPS.
| Number of Inspections | 127 |
| Number of Factories in which defects were found | 13 |
SAMPLING.
Total number of samples taken— 407, as follows:
| Food and Drugs Act | 243 |
| Designated Milks | 52 |
| Mixed Milk | 1 |
| Ice Cream | 57 |
| Water | 54 |
TRADE PREMISES
| Number of Inspections | 411 |
| Number of Premises in which defects were found | 57 |
* This includes a figure of 370 for leaking cesspools, as shown in
Appendix I.
Rodent Control.
The year's figures show a steady increase in the number of
occupiers who have availed themselves of the rodent control
service provided bv the Local Authority.
The following statistics are of work carried out following complaints and by routine investigation :
| No. of Infested Premises | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inspections | Found | Cleared | |
| Refuse Tips | 32 | 4 | 4 |
| Other Council Premises | 338 | 24 | 24 |
| Trade Premises | 301 | 33 | 33 |
| Private Premises | 5,141 | 137 | 137 |
Refuse Collection and Disposal.
House refuse is collected weekly in the district, with the
exception of the rural part of the area, which receives a fortnightly
service.