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Medical Officer of Health; and Administrative Medical Officer, Tuberculosis, and Maternity
and Child Welfare.
*Frank E. Scrase, f.r.c.s.(Eng.). l.r.c.p.(Lond.), d.p.h.(Lond.).
Note.—The Medical Officer of Health and all Sanitary Inspectors are appointed as
Officers under the Housing Acts.
* Contribution to salary made under Public Health' Acts or Exchequer grants.
All the Officers give their whole-time to their duties with the exception of the Tuberculosis
Medical Officer, the Medical Officer in charge of the Pre-Maternity Clinics, and the
Public Analyst.
Section 9.
Housing.
The continued scarcity of housing accommodation is not limited to
Hampstead; it is common to the whole country.
It is in my opinion the most pressing need of the present day, and
calls for continual effort on the part of the Health Staff to ameliorate
conditions; to prevent houses from becoming derelict, streets from
becoming "slummy"; and to incite the people themselves to greater
efforts to personal and domestic hygiene.
It is safe to say that an adequate solution of the housing question
is the foundation of all social progress. One cannot disassociate health
from housing—they are inextrieable.
We have been fairly successful in maintaining the high standard
of former years in this Borough, but only by continuous and neverrelaxing
pressure. There is a persistent tendency on the part of both
owner and tenant to let things slide, and it is against this continuous
tendency that our chief efforts must be directed. We must maintain
our attack upon the insanitary areas until we improve them out of
existence; but Hampstead cannot hope to do much by the actual provision
of new buildings, few, if any, sites being now available in the
Borough.
In the following statement is tabulated a list of work accomplished
under the direction of the Housing Inspectors. In addition
to this, should be borne in mind the improvements carried out by the
Distriet Sanitary Inspectors much of which has a direct bearing upon
the better housing of the population.