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
Camberwell 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Camberwell.
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1-23
The number of notices it was necessary to serve was proportionately
lower than last year, and it would really appear that there
is substantial improvement iu the hygienic condition of the workshops
as a whole.
The second schedule sets out the nature of the defects found
under certain headings, which in the main explain themselves, but
under the class of " other nuisances," which amounted to 88, are
included defective roofs, dirty condition of walls and ceilings, &c.
Home work was found to be carried on in unwholesome
premises in 39 instances; the bad conditions were for the most
part of a comparatively trifling character, and chiefly consisted of
dirty or badly kept state of the workroom, owing to the carelessness
of the occupier. For the most part they were remedied on attention
being called to them, and in only 18 instances was it necessary to
serve notices. It will be seen that among the scheduled trades only
in the case of the making of wearing apparel were there conditions
existing that could be made the subject of a complaint.
4.—REGISTERED WORKSHOPS.
| Workshops and Workplaces on the Register (s. 131) at the end of the year. | Number. |
|---|---|
| Laundries | 50 |
| Clothing (wholesale and private) | 318 |
| Preparation of food | 189 |
| Building trades | 61 |
| Bakehouses | 154 |
| Miscellaneous | 931 |
| Total number of workshops on Register | 1,703 |
5.OTHER MATTERS.
| Class. | Number. | |
|---|---|---|
| Matters notified to H.M. Inspector of Factories: — | ||
| Failure to affix Abstract of the Factory and Workshop Act (s.133,1901) | 19 | |
| Action taken in matters referred by H.M. Inspector as remediable under the Public Health Acts, but not under the Factory and Workshop Acts (s. 5, 1901) | {Notified by H.M. Inspector | 15 |
| Reports (of action taken) sent to H.M. Inspector | 11 | |
| Other | – | |
| Underground Bakehouses (s. 101):— | ||
| Certificates granted during the year | – | |
| In use at the end of the year | 65 | |
There were the usual instances of default in sending in the
lists of outworkers at the proper time, but a letter from the Committee
calling attention to the consequences of failure to comply
with the law had the desired effect, and in no case was it necessary
to summons.
There were no instances of outwork being carried on in infected
premises during 1912. A copy of the notifications received
each morning is at once handed to Miss Bevan, who compares it
with her list of outworkers to see if any names appear on both lists,