London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Strand (Westminster) 1894

Thirty-ninth annual report on the sanitary condition of the Strand District, London, 1894

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26
ON THE SANITARY CONDITION OF
Common Lodging Houses.
During the year, works of sanitary improvement,
have been carried out at several of the Common
Lodging Houses in this District. Considerable attention
has also been directed to the class of persons
frequenting these houses and other unlicensed shelters,
as it has been found to be largely due to them that
infectious disease especially smallpox has been carried
from one town to another. The London County
Council on the 19th July, "thought it desirable to
"convene a Conference, with a view to considering
"whether means can be adopted to prevent the spread
"of infectious diseases by the class of persons referred
"to." Delegates from your Board attended the
Conference, and the following resolutions were
adopted:—
(1.) That common shelters which are not subject
to the law relating to common lodging houses
should be made subject to such law.
(2.) That there should be power to the local
authority to require medical examination of
all persons entering common lodging houses
and casual wards, and that, each inmate should
on admission have a bath of fresh water.
(3.) That the local authority should have power to
order the keeper of a common lodging house
in which there has been infectious disease, to
refuse fresh admissions for such time as may
be required by the authority.
(4.) That the local authority should have power to
require the temporary closing of any common
lodging house in which infectious disease has
occurred.