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

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Bermondsey 1937

Report on the sanitary condition of the Borough of Bermondsey for the year 1937

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to another point in connection with the nursing staff. For several
years in the temporary premises the staff consisted of two nurses,
Mrs. Cottier and Miss Jagot. There has been a vast expansion
in the work and a consequent increase in the staff. While lam
happy to be able to say that each individual member of the
staff has worked excellently and fully justified her selection by
the Council, I must take the rather unusual course of drawing
special attention to the work of Mrs. Cottier. Ido not think it is
an exaggeration to say that the great success of this work has
been in large measure due to her organising ability coupled with
her own capacity for hard work, and the tact and amiability
which enables her to extract almost the last ounce from those who
work under her. I think that her position in charge of the
Solarium should now be definitely recognised by the Council,
and that her office should be given a definite designation and carry
a salary commensurate with the responsibility.
"Medical Staff — In 1924 light treatment was first begun
in the borough, largely owing to the enthusiasm of my predecessor,
Dr. King Brown. As the work was in the nature of an
experiment and did not at that time justify the appointment of a
special Medical Officer, the examination of patients and the
medical supervision was undertaken almost wholly by myself as
Assistant Medical Officer of Health. Since that time no special
appointment has ever been made in spite of the tremendous
increase of work, and such increase has been met by arranging
for other Assistant Medical Officers to give help for one or two
sessions every week in the Solarium. At the present moment
Dr. Telfer, who has a specialist qualification in Electrical and
Physical Therapy as well as in Radiology, is in medical charge of
the Solarium. The remarks which I have made concerning Mrs.
Cottier apply with equal force to Dr. Telfer, and with mutual
help they have welded together and controlled a team which I
am sure is unequalled anywhere. Certain other medical members
of the staff at present give help in the work of the Solarium,
namely, Dr. Plimsoll, Dr. Marshall, and Dr. Grantley Smith,
the Municipal Dental Surgeon, who has done this work voluntarily
solely out of his interest in the work of the Department.