London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Kensington and Chelsea 1967
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Kensington & Chelsea Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
DISINFECTION AND DISINFESTATION A summary of the routine work carried out in 1967 by the disinfecting staff is shown in the following table:-
| Houses disinfected after infectious disease | 96 (180 rooms) | |||
| Houses disinfested after vermin | 364 (818 rooms) | |||
| Tons | cwts. | qtrs. | lbs. | |
| Total weight of bedding, etc. dealt with | 4 | 12 | 3 | 5 |
It is the practice of certain foreign countries to prohibit the
import of parcels of clothing, unless accompanied with a certificate
that the articles have been disinfected. The Council afford facilities
to persons desirous of sending clothing abroad and, for this service,
a standard charge is made of 10s.0d. per parcel. During the year,
fifty-two parcels of clothing were disinfected and the income amounted
to £26. 0. 0d.
The following table indicates the destination of these parcels
| Destination | No. of parcels |
|---|---|
| Albania | 1 |
| Argentina | 2 |
| East Germany- | 21 |
| West Germany | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Rumania | 2 |
| Spain | 24 |
| Total | 52 |
PREVENTION OF DAMAGE BY PESTS
The Prevention of Damage by Pests Act, 1949. imposes a duty on
occupiers of premises to notify the Council of rodent infestation,
and the Council are required to ensure that the borough is, as far
as practicable, kept free from rats and mice. The Council deal with
rat and mice infestation in dwelling houses without cost to the
occupiers, but expenditure incurred in treating infestations on
commercial and industrial premises is recovered from the owners.
The Council are required to submit reports on
(i) the extent of infestation;
(ii) special circumstances to which any undue
presence of rats and mice might be
attributed; and
(iii) the nature and extent of co-operative
working with contiguous local authorities.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food requested a
report for the twelve months ended 31st December, 1967, as follows:-