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
Shoreditch 1897
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Shoreditch, Parish of St. Leonard]
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95
THE SHELTER.
The temporary accommodation provided by the Vestry at No. 18, Branch place,
Hoxton, for persons obliged to vacate their dwellings to allow of efficient measures
being taken as to disinfection was made use of during the year on five occasions.
The particulars are contained in the subjoined table:—
TABLE XXIV.
| Date of Admittance. | Length of Stay. | Number of Persons. | Address. | Disease. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan. 9 | 3 nights | 8 | 22, Wellington Street | Diphtheria |
| Aug. 25 | 2 „ | 7 | 9, Hare Walk | Scarlatina |
| Sept. 29 | 4 hours | 2 | 59, Queen's Road | „ |
| Nov. 30 | 6 „ | 7 | 83, Hackney Road | „ |
| Dec. 7 | 2 nights | 4 | 50, Laburnum Street | „ |
Altogether twenty-three persons made use of the Shelter.
DISINFECTANTS.
From June 8th to October 8th packets of disinfecting powder were distributed
free of charge to persons making application to the department at the Town Hall.
Enquiries as to the purpose for which the powder was intended to be used was made
in each instance, and numbers of insanitary conditions thus came under the notice
of the Vestry's sanitary officers.
Altogether 1,699 half pound packets or 8 cwt. of "Sanitas" Powder were given
away at a cost of £4 16s. and 2 cwt. were used at the mortuary. In addition 26
gallons of carbolic acid disinfecting fluid was used at a cost of £5 17s., mainly in
connection with special cases of disinfection, for flushing house drains, for the
cleansing of flooring and wood work of dwelling room in certain cases, for cleansing
at the public mortuary aud for other purposes.
PUBLIC MORTUARY.
The number of dead bodies received into the public mortuary during the year was
421. The bodies were those of parishioners, with the exceptions in the cases of
non-parishioners who have met their deaths through disease or accident within
the parish.
By order of the sanitary authority the bodies of eight persons dying of infectious
disease were removed to the mortuary.