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20
BACTERIOLOGICAL WORK.
The Council have an arrangement with the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine,
Chelsea Gardens, S.W.1, for the bacteriological examination, at the expense of the Council, of
specimens from Kensington cases sent to them by medical practitioners in regard to
diphtheria, tuberculosis, typhoid fever, syphilis and other diseases. The examinations in 1925
were as follow:—
Disease No. of No. of
suspected. examinations. positive results.
Diphtheria 1110 105
Tuberculosis 234 24
Typhoid Fever (Wi,dal) 13 4
„ ,, (Faeces) 21 12
Gonorrhœa 7 1
Ringworm 5 2
Dysentery 2 1
Syphilis 2 1
In addition to these examinations at the Lister Institute, 511 specimens of sputum were
examined at the Tuberculosis Dispensary.
acilities for the examination of cerebro-spinal fluid in suspected cases of cerebro-spinal fever,
etc., are available to the Council's Public Health Department through the London County
Council's Laboratory and for the examination of suspected foodstuffs and of blood in suspected
malaria cases through the Ministry of Health.
PUBLIC BATHS AND WASH-HOUSES.
There are at the Public Baths, a Men's First Class Swimming Bath with a capacity of 120,000
gallons, a Women's First Class Swimming Bath with a capacity of 45,000 gallons, and a Second
Class Men's Bath and Second Class Women's Bath each of which holds 45,000 gallons.
The charge for admission to the First Class Baths is 8d.; 3d. is charged for admission to
the Second Class Baths, children being admitted at half price.
In the early part of the year the Council resolved to install a modern apparatus for the constant
filtration and aeration of the water in all four baths with a view to securing that the same shall
at all times be free from discoloration and perfectly wholesome. The type of plant selected was
that made by the Turnover Co., Ltd.; the installation is practically complete and will be in
working order before this report is printed. The plant should easily repay the Council their capital
expenditure by savings on water and fuel.
There are 13 Men's and 7 Women's First Class Slipper Baths and 34 Men's and 20 Women's
Second Class Slipper Baths. The charge for a First Class Warm Slipper Bath is 8d., and for a
Second Class, 3d., whilst the charges for a First Class Cold Slipper Bath and for a Second Class
Cold Slipper Bath are 4d. and l½d. respectively. There are 6 special Warm Baths for the use of
which a charge of 1/- is made.

In the Wash-house or Laundry Department, there were 90 wash-tubs in use in 1925. In order
to prevent the wash-tubs being used by professional laundry-women, to the exclusion of women
doing their own family washing, the prices to be paid by a user of a wash-tub are as follows :—
2d. for each of the first four hours on any one day.
4d. for the fifth hour on any one day, and
6d. for the sixth and every succeeding hour on any one day.