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30
CLEANSING OF PERSONS ACT, 1897.
During the year there was a very large increase in the number of persons who
were cleansed under the above Act. As many as 600 men and 13 women had free
baths at the Casual Wards, and their articles of clothing, amounting to 3,470 articles,
were disinfected in the Council's steam apparatus.
During the previous three years the number of persons cleansed under the above
Act were :—1902, 22; 1903, 16; and 1904, 9.
The reason for this great increase was the publicity by means of hand-bills
announcing that free baths for men and women and facilities lor the disinfection of
clothing are provided by the Council. These hand-bills were issued in the month of
June, and were placed in common lodging houses, Salvation Army shelters, underground
conveniences, police stations, public libraries, dispensaries, and the out-patient
departments of hospitals, including hospitals for the treatment of skin diseases.
In my report to the Public Health Committee respecting the matter, I informed
them that I had inspected the baths at the Casual Wards and found that there were
five baths on the ground floor for the use of men and the same number on the top
floor for women, so that there is ample accommodation for the cleansing of a much
larger number of persons than had hitherto made application. I also pointed out the
following advantages which would be obtained by making use of the baths at the
Casual Wards:—
No outlay for the provision of baths would be required.
These baths will not be affected by any change or extension, if any, of
the Council's offices.
The baths adjoin the Council's stone yard, in which are the steam
disinfectors.
This is the method that has been adopted since the passing of the Act, and
sanction for the use of the baths was given by the Guardians of the Poor for St. Giles
and Bloomsbury.
On account of alterations which were carried out at the St. Giles and Bloomsbury
Casual Wards during the latter part of the year the cleansing of persons had to be
limited to those resident in the Borough, and arrangements were made with the
Holborn Guardians for not more than six persons of each sex per day, resident either
in this Borough or in the Borough of Finsbury, to have free baths and their clothing
disinfected at the Casual Wards, Little Grays Inn Lane.
BACTERIOLOGY.
Facilities have for many years been afforded to Medical Practitioners for the
bacteriological examination of material in suspected cases of diphtheria and enteric
fever. In 1904 when the voluntary notification of consumption was adopted facilities
were also afforded by the Council for the bacteriological examination of sputum from
suspected cases of consumption.