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
Hammersmith 1971
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hammersmith Borough]
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| Number of collections | Number of articles | |
|---|---|---|
| Fulham Hospital | 86 | 4307 |
| West London Hospital | 37 | 206 |
| Hurlingham Lodge | 57 | 4239 |
| Stamford House | 106 | 1173 |
| Olympia | 1 | 185 |
| Private Dwellings | 41 | 105 |
| Business Premises | 3 | 8 |
| TOTALS | 330 | 10038 |
| Formaldehyde sterilisation of clothing and accessories: | ||
| Number of collections | Number of articles | |
| Stamford House | 67 | 802 |
| B, B. C • | 1 | 311 |
| TOTALS | 68 | 1113 |
| Steam sterilisation of clothing for verminous persons and for certain cases of Scabies: | ||
| Number of persons | Number of stovings | |
| Living in Hammersmith or of no fixed abode | 426 | 387 |
Disinfestation
There was again an increase of treatments in this section, 1866 rooms in
689 premises receiving attention compared with 1532 and 637 in the previous
year.
Premises infested with fleas are now our main problem with bed bugs in
second place. These two pests now take up more than 50% of our Disinfestors'
time.
Repeat requests for spraying against fleas are not uncommon as invariably
the animal responsible in the first instance for the infestation is not
itself cleansed or is allowed to become reinfested. In many of the rooms
treated their appearance suggests that regular use of a vacuum cleaner
would assist.
The increase in bed bug infestations during the past two years could be
associated with the above average summer temperatures experienced or
could be a trend which when linked with the increase in personal cleansing
might indicate a general decline in hygiene. Alternatively, all the increase
might be due to the present day attitude of shelving all responsibilities
on to national and local governments.
Disinfection
Work under this heading is mostly confined to requests following terminal