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
Hackney 1908
Report on the sanitary condition of the Hackney District for the year 1908
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72
Of the 768 premises inspected by Miss Portlock, in 63 only did
she find a room set apart for work alone.
In the remainder, work was carried on in rooms used for other purposes as set out below:—
| Workroom, Bedroom and Kitchen | 77 |
| „ and Kitchen | 436 |
| ,, Bedroom | 98 |
| „ Living Boom | 81 |
| ,, Scullery | 12 |
| „ alone | 63 |
| „ Bathroom | 1 |
| Total | 768 |
DISINFECTION.
(a) Rooms.—During the year 1908 there were 2,529 rooms
fumigated, and 1,172 rooms cleansed by the Staff of the Public
Health Department. Amongst this number is included the disinfection
after cases of phthisis, measles and whooping cough.
The disinfection and cleansing done each month of the year is
set out in the following table.
| Month. | Rooms Fumigated. | Rooms Cleansed. | Remarks. |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 259 | 142 | The method of fumigation is by burning sulphur. After fumigation the rooms to be cleansed are stripped of their wall-paper and cleansed with a solution of carbolic acid. The ceilings are afterwards whitened. |
| February | 177 | 113 | |
| March | 195 | 86 | |
| April | 232 | 78 | |
| May | 211 | 92 | |
| June | 176 | 78 | |
| July | 167 | 77 | |
| August | 157 | 85 | |
| September | 218 | 112 | |
| October | 292 | 109 | |
| November | 230 | 102 | |
| December | 215 | 98 | |
| Total | 2,529 | 1,172 |
(6) Articles of Clothing and Furniture.—The number of
articles under this head disinfected at the Millfields Eoad Disinfecting