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REPORT
OF THE
MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH
FOR THE YEAR 1906.
To the Right Worshipful the Mayor, Aldermen and Councillors
of the Metropolitan Borough of Islington.
Gentlemen,
In presenting you with this Report on the health and sanitary condition
of your Borough for the year 1906, I am pleased to be able to
congratulate you on the very good state of health which it discloses, particularly
as coincident with the close of the year, I completed as Medical
Officer of Health, a quarter of a century of work, of which over fifteen years
have been busily spent in Islington.
During this period it has been my constant, and as I think very successful,
aim to keep the Borough as a whole in a good sanitary state. I cannot,
however, conceal from myself the fact that the homes of a very considerable
section of it are now growing very old; that very many of them are occupied
by numerous families; that many of the landlords are careless of the requirements
of their tenants, and that, consequently, it will become more and more
difficult to preserve the low death-rate which has obtained in Islington for
some years. A great deal, however, can be accomplished by continuous and
untiring effort. There must be no relaxation in the incessant inspection of
these properties, and in the enforcement of the sanitary statutes, particularly
those relating to overcrowding and the provision of sufficient sanitary
accommodation for the persons occupying them. It is because of this that I
have dwelt so long in the early part of the report on the housing of the people,
on which subject I presented a very full report a few years ago, a copy of
which I will be happy to forward to any of you who may desire to be more
fully informed on the subject Wholesome houses, a good water supply, a
pure milk supply, and the proper care and feeding of infants are the chief
means whereby Islington's great salubrity can be preserved. And these can
only be secured by maintaining a sufficient and efficient staff of Inspectors.