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The cottage was in a filthy state and there was evidence that
Mr. A., was disposing of his excreta and waste food by throwing
it out of the door and windows. The medical practitioner
attending Mr. A., was consulted and he agreed that application
should be made for an Order committing Mr. A., to an
institution for a period not exceeding 14 days. Mr. A., was
subsequently admitted to Newington Lodge, Westmoreland
Road, S.E.17, after having been bathed in the Council's
Cleansing Station and supplied with a complete outfit of
clothing. Although some difficulty was experienced in
persuading Mr. A., to enter an Old People's Home, when the
statutory 14 days had expired he expressed a desire to remain
in residence at the Home, where he died six months after
admission, the cause of death being certified as Huntington's
Chorea.
3. After neighbours' complaints of smells emanating from one
of the Council's flats occupied by Mrs. Y., I paid a visit and
found both Mrs. Y., and the flat in a filthy condition. There
was evidence that Mrs. Y., was incontinent, infested with
fleas, and unable to devote to herself proper care and attention.
Her medical adviser agreed to sign a joint declaration that she
should be admitted to an institution for a period not exceeding
14 days. During this period her flat was disinfested, her
clothing and bedding cleaned and laundered, and a Home
Help thoroughly cleaned the flat. Mrs. Y., returned home
and with the aid of neighbours and regular supervision by
members of the staff, has kept herself clean and is living a
normal happy life.
MORTUARY
This Council maintained a mortuary, complete with post-mortem
rooms and chapel, until October, 1935, when, owing to the decreasing
use made of these facilities, which was partly due to the Coroner's
decision in 1930 to hold no more inquests in this borough, and coincident
with the retirement of the then Mortuary Keeper, the Council
decided to close the mortuary premises and to enter into an agreement
with the London County Council for the reception of bodies into the
mortuary attached to St. Olave's Hospital, at a fee of £1 1s. 0d. for
each body accommodated. This arrangement worked satisfactorily,
and the Council's mandatory function under Section 234 of the Public
Health (London) Act 1936 has been discharged in this manner ever
since. Consequently, since 1935, in all cases where the Coroner has
ordered a post-mortem to be performed the bodies have been taken by
the Coroner for that purpose to the mortuary maintained by the
borough council in which his Court for this area is situated. For
many years inquests on persons dying in Bermondsey were held at
Lewisham, but owing to a redistribution of coroners' areas they have
been held at Southwark for the past few years. Not only are those
bodies removed to Southwark for whose accommodation in St. Olave's