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45
PUBLIC HEALTH EDUCATION
CLEM HANDLING OF FOOD
As has already been stated, the vigilance and initiative of the
Council's Sanitary Inspectors has brought about a steadily improving standard
of hygiene in food premises, and now, on the whole, conditions are being
maintained at a very satisfactory level.
The majority of food handlers are becoming increasingly aware of their
personal responsibility for the maintenance of health and the prevention of
disease, and now that facilities have been made available at their places of
work, through the willing co-operation of managements, the improvement in
standards is progressing. The public at large, however, still have a duty
to perform in drawing to the attention of both shopkeepers and officers of
the Public Health Department any disgusting or dirty food handling habits or
practices witnessed in shops and restaurants.
There are in Chelsea a number of large hospitals and other institutions,
and occasional outbreaks of food poisoning in these establishments draw
attention to the considerable resident population at risk. It was, therefore,
decided to undertake a series of lectures to the catering, kitchen and foodhandling
staffs of these establishments. Originally it had been intended to
give the lectures at the places of employment, but owing to the small numbers
of persons separately available at any given time, it was found that this
would have led to excessive repetition. However, thanks to the willing
co-operation of the No. 4 (Chelsea) Group Management Committee in placing a
suitable hall and other facilities at St. Luke's Hospital at our disposal, it
was possible to bring all the persons to a central point. The course of
training consisted of lectures given by the Medical Officer of Health and other
members of the Public Health Department, and the showing of five films on the
subject of the "Clean Handling of Food". It was followed by an examination
under the auspices of the St. John Ambulance Association. Some fifty-four
persons took the course and were suecessful in passing the examination. The
same course was repeated for the benefit of the local division of the St. John
Ambulance Brigade at their headquarters.
This successful experiment in co-operation between the local authority
and other bodies, (which included the Chelsea Hospital for Women, the Royal
Marsden Hospital, the Brompton Hospital, the hospitals comprising the No. 4
(Chelsea) Group, the Victoria Hospital for Children, and the Hans Crescent
Hostel for Foreign Students run jointly by the Colonial Office and the British
Council) was much appreciated by all participants.