London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington 1929
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington Borough]
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Other Staff.—There axe:—
(a) Five Disinfectors, including a man who acts as engineer.
(b) A Mortuary Keeper.
(c) Two Sanitary Labourers who assist in drain testing.
(d) A Superintendent and Matron of the Medicinal Baths.
(e) A Rat Officer.
(f) A Caretaker and wife at the Tuberculosis Dispensary.
Particulars of the staff, as required by the Ministry of Health Circular No. 359, appear in
Table vii. of the Appendix.
DISINFECTION.
| Nature of Infection. | Premises Disinfected. | Room Disinfected. | Disinfections at Wood Lane. | No. of Articles Disinfected. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small Pox | 12 | 56 | 27 | 1,515 |
| Scarlet Fever | 519 | 741 | 639 | 10,598 |
| Diphtheria | 271 | 413 | 259 | 3,950 |
| Enteric Fever | 10 | 13 | 14 | 257 |
| Paratyphoid Fever | 10 | 13 | 55 | 438 |
| Measles | 137 | 162 | 12 | 155 |
| Consumption | 157 | 199 | 175 | 1,688 |
| Cancer | 38 | 48 | 71 | 766 |
| Vermin | 158 | 233 | 92 | 1,000 |
| Other Diseases | 329 | 412 | 286 | 2,608 |
| Totals | 1,641 | 2,290 | 1,630 | 22,975 |
* This table does not include the work carried out at Wood Lane on behalf of the
Paddington Borough Council.
The total weight of the bedding, clothing, etc., of Kensington residents disinfected was 46
tons 7 cwts. 2 qrs. 13 lbs. The number of articles disinfected only was 21,923 and the number
disinfected and washed, 1,052.
The laundry work for the Medicinal Baths is performed at the Disinfecting Station and this
work involved in 1929 the washing of 9,517 towels, 278 sheets and 30 other articles.
The Paddington Authority have entered into an agreement with the Council for the disinfection
of all articles removed from Paddington homes to be performed at the Kensington Disinfecting
Station. As the Paddington Council require certain of the articles to be washed after disinfection,
the charge was fixed at 20s. Od. per cwt. of articles dealt with, but there is a proviso in the agreement
that the minimum payment per annum is to be £600.
The weight of Paddington articles disinfected in 1929 was 25 tons. 9 cwts. 3 qrs. 9 lbs.
The number of articles disinfected was 10,609 and the number disinfected and washed was 2,830,
DISINFECTION OF LIBRARY BOOKS.
In view of the difficulty of securing efficient disinfection of books, the Libraries Committee
authorise the Medical Officer of Health to destroy all Public Library volumes removed from
infected houses; this gives Kensington borrowers protection from infection from the Council's
books.
The number of books from the Kensington Public Libraries destroyed during the year by the
officers of the Public Health Department was 60. The number of private subscribing library books
destroyed was 12, and the number disinfected by formalin and returned to the householders was 17.