London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Port of London 1912

Report for the year ended 31st December 1912 of the Medical Officer of Health for the Port of London

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15
(c) Bacteriological laboratories, and the buildings and plant necessary for
efficient disinfection ;
(d) A supply of drinking water of quality above suspicion at the disposal of the
port, and a system of scavenging that offers every possible guarantee for
the removal of excrement and refuse.
It may here be desirable to give a description of the organisation provided by
the Port of London Sanitary Authority for complying with the recommendations of
Article 43.
A.—The Staff consists of :—
1. Medical Officer of Health.
2. Five Assistant Medical Officers.
3. Thirteen Sanitary Inspectors.
B.—Transport, Isolation, &c.
1. Four Steam Launches, and one ambulance boat for removing patients.
2. Isolation Hospital and Nursing Staff, Steam Disinfector, and Sulphur
Di-oxide Fumigating Plant.
A.—Medical and Sanitary Organisation.
All vessels from foreign ports, on arrival at Gravesend or Sheerness, are visited by
a Medical Officer, who is appointed by your Committee for this purpose. He
investigates every case of illness then on board, or that has occurred during the voyage,
and in the case of vessels arriving from ports infected, or suspected to be infected with
Plague, Yellow Fever or Cholera, he proceeds on board and makes a personal
examination of the persons thereon.
The Sanitary Inspectors are stationed in the various docks and are responsible for
the general sanitary condition of the vessels and shore premises within their appointed
districts. These will be found in detail on page 70 of this Report.
B.—Transport and Isolation.
All cases of Infectious Disease are removed to the Port Sanitary Hospital at
Denton, which consists of three pavilions each containing two wards, and one pavilion
with one ward (used exclusively for the reception and treatment of patients suffering
from Small-pox), making four pavilions in all.
The Hospital is fully equipped, the staff consisting of Medical Officer, Matron,
three Nurses, and Servants. There are also a caretaker and his wife, the former removes
patients from vessels to Hospital, disinfects clothing, bedding, &c., whilst his wife, with
assistance, does the laundry work of the Hospital.
A Washington-Lyons Disinfector is provided for the disinfection of infected articles.
This is supplied by steam from a water-tube boiler, which permits of steam being
obtained very quickly, and enables the process of disinfection to be carried out with as
little delay as possible. The contents of the chamber are exposed for a period of
20 minutes to a temperature of 2550 Fahrenheit. The effects, after disinfection are
either returned to the ship at once or stored in a waterproof shed until they can be
returned.
The patients are removed from the ship in an ambulance boat towed by a launch,
as owing to the shallowness of the water in the vicinity of the Hospital, the launch is
unable to get near enough to the landing stage.