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48
ing as it does not only inspection and the service of notices, but
of revisits to see that the notices served under the Public Health
Act are complied with. Difficulty is at times experienced in getting
some owners to carry out the work for which notices have
been served upon them in a satisfactory manner, so as to put
the property into a fair state of sanitary repair. In many respects
the Public Health (London) Act is, in my opinion, unsatisfactory
for this purpose as I have pointed out in previous Annual Reports
(vide Annual Report of Medical Officer of Health for 1907), and it
is to be hoped that in the new Housing and Town Planning Act,
which is now the law of the land, will be found more effective machinery
for inducing owners to realise their obligation in regard to
keeping their property in a reasonably healthy and habitable condition,
thereby supplementing the powers under the Housing Act.
The importance of the question cannot be overlooked as will
be gathered from a perusal of the vital and morbidity statistics of
this report. It will be found that it is in those districts where the
housing accommodation is most unsatisfactory that a high deathrate
and a high mortality-rate prevails, and that most requires
the attention of the outdoor sanitary staff.
During the year 1909 the total number of houses inspected in
house-to-house inspection was 3,218. This number is a decrease
on that for 1908, and is accounted for by the fact that the time
of some of the district inspectors was taken up in other directions.
It will be seen, moreover, that the number of houses inspected
has, during 1909, decreased to some extent, as compared with the
four preceding years. The largest number of houses inspected
was during 1905 (i.e., 4,503). The great prevalence of scarlet
fever (and to a less extent of diphtheria) which began to rise in
that year, took up a great deal of time of the inspectors in making
enquiries, securing removals to hospitals and tracing contacts,
etc. Notwithstanding, however, a fair amount of work in this
connection has been carried out, as a glance at the undermentioned
figures showing the number of house inspected in each
year since 1900, and the average for the nine years 1900-1908:—
1900 3,009
1901 3,116
1902 1,740
1903 2,670
1904 3,020
1905 4,503
1906 3,609
1907 4,101
1908 3,609
Average for nine years 1900-1908 = 3,264
1909 3,218