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75
Temporary Shelter or House Accommodation.
During 1912, at the Reception Shelter situate at Sheepcote
Lane, five midwives and eight nurses who had been in attendance
on puerperal fever or in contact with other forms of infectious
disease had the use of one of the tenements at the Reception
Shelter for purposes of personal disinfection. Two hundred and
sixty-three persons, including laundry hands, milk vendors, dressmakers,
etc., whose occupation rendered it desirable, attended
for personal disinfection at the Shelter on account of exposure to
infectious disease.
Cleansing of Persons Act, 1897.
During 1912 2,192 verminous persons attended at the Personal
Cleansing station, Sheepcote Lane. Of the total number cleansed
1,336 were adult males, 15 adult females, and 841 children, the
latter coming mainly from the public elementary schools.
An agreement was entered into between the London County
Council and the Borough Council for the use of the latter Council's
Personal Cleansing Station for the cleansing of verminous school
children. The agreement provides for the payment to the Borough
Council of two shillings per child cleansed irrespective of the
number of attendances within a calendar month before the child
is certified as cleansed. The term of the agreement is for twelve
months, and may be renewed at the option of the contracting
parties.
I have repeatedly in my annual report called attention to the
unsuitability of the present cleansing station for the purpose for
which it is used. It is small, structurally unsuitable, and otherwise
ill-adapted for carrying on this useful work. In other words
the use made of the station has long outgrown its capacity. This
is not a matter for surprise when the numbers of persons using
the station in each year since it was opened in August, 1906, are
examined. These are as follows:—
1906 (August onwards) 141
1907 621
1908 1,662
1909 1,694
1910 1,924
1911 1,650
1912 2,192
A glance at these figures sufficiently indicates the extent to
which the work has grown, and the result is that unless a newstation
is speedily provided, it will be quite impossible to continue
this useful work except under conditions which would be a discredit
to the Council.