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69 [1936
NEW LEGISLATION,
(Enacted or coming into force during 1936.)
The Public Health (London) Act, 1936, came into force on the 1st October,
1936. This consolidating Act took in various portions of London County Council
(General Powers) Acts, the Maternity and Child Welfare Act, 1918, and the Children
and Young Persons Acts.
The Pharmacy and Poisons Act, 1933. Both this Act and the Rules made
thereunder came into operation during 1936. These have for their object the
closer control of the sale of poisonous substances.
Milk (Special Designations) Order, 1936.—This Order came into
operation on the 1st June. It reduces the number of designated milks to three,
Tuberculin Tested, Accredited, and Pasteurised, and revokes the earlier Order.
Tuberculin Tested.—A prescribed methylene blue reduction test for cleanliness
has been substituted for the bacteria plate test; Tuberculin Tested milk may be
pasteurised, if so, it must be described as " Tuberculin Tested " Milk (Pasteurised),
and must not contain more than 30,000 bacteria per m.m. If it is bottled on the
farm, the word " Certified " may be added to its designation.
Accredited.—The conditions are as in the Order of 1923 for Grade " A " Milk.
This is raw milk from cows, subjected to and passing a veterinary examination. It
must be bottled either on the farm or at a licensed bottling establishment. This
milk must pass the same bacteriological test as " Raw " Tuberculin Tested Milk.
Pasteurised.—The conditions imposed are those of the Order of 1923, with
additional requirements in regard to thermometers and temperature records. While
being pasteurised the milk must be retained at 145-150 F. for a period of at least
thirty minutes. The designation "Pasteurised" is applicable where accredited
milk or ungraded milk is pasteurised according to the requirements prescribed.
SOCIAL CONDITIONS.
In the report of the Medical Officer of Health for 1935, under " Social Conditions,"
it is stated that at the close of that year unemployment had slightly
decreased. The conditions appear to have further improved during 1936, as the
figures supplied by the Local Unemployment Exchange show that whereas at the
end of 1935, the approximate number of unemployed was 7,000, by the end of 1936
this number had been reduced to approximately 6,000.
PROPAGANDA WORK.
The propaganda work undertaken by the Public Health Department consisted
of increased publicity by posters exhibited on boards in various parts of the Borough,
some giving a summary of the health services provided by the Borough Council,
others of an artistic type drawing the attention of the public to Child Welfare. In
addition to the literature mentioned in the Annual Report of the Medical Officer of
Health for 1935, leaflets on the subject of precautions to prevent the conveyance of
infections to the hop fields were freely distributed.
In November a lecture entitled " Public Health and the People," was given by
Dr. T. W. Hill, M.D., D.P.H., at the Central Library, Holloway Road, N.7, to an
audience of about 200. The lecture was interesting and instructive, not only from
the public health but from the social point of view, and at its conclusion, from the
questions which were asked, it was clear that the members of the audience were
impressed by its importance.