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Difficulty was also mentioned in regard to hospital accommodation. The
Metropolitan Asylums Board was a Poor-Law Authority, not required to take
cases of infectious disease who were not paupers. Dr. Tidy expressed gratitude
for the friendly action of the Board who, without being compelled by law, nevertheless
had not refused to accept any patient sent to them by order of the Sanitary
Authority. He did not think, notwithstanding, it was a good thing that this should
be done by an act of grace and stated, quite reasonably, that such hospitals were
urgently required and should be placed under the management of a central board
and placed at the disposal of the Sanitary Authorities. He considered that such
hospitals could not be self-supporting, and insofar as patients were not able to
pay their quota to the full, he did not think this would be an unfair charge on the
Metropolitan rate considering that the public generally would benefit from the
removal of such cases from their midst.
Another severe outbreak of smallpox occurred in 1880 and 1881. Over a
period of approximately 14 months there were 797 cases with 129 deaths, giving
a fatality rate of 16.2 per cent. Still there was no hospital accommodation for
these cases except the pauper hospitals of the Asylums Board. However, apparently
Islington and St. Pancras each formed a temporary camp hospital upon portions
of adjacent vacant lands at Finchley and Dr. Tidy reported that the experiment
was a great success, the mortality among patients being exceptionally low.
Two Sanitary Inspectors were originally appointed by the Vestry in 1856
and these were increased to 4 Inspectors in 1866. Owing to the continuance
of rapid increase in population and increasing legislation the work of the Sanitary
Inspectors had increased very considerably. It was necessary in 1885 to appoint
an additional four temporary Inspectors and Dr. Tidy now recommended that
these four temporary appointments should be made permanent so that the outdoor
staff would consist of eight Inspectors, including the Inspector of Dust. It was
also recommended that Inspectors be appointed at a commencing salary of 34/per
week with annual increases of 4/- per week to a maximum of 50/-. The
maximum salary at that time was 40/- per week. It was further recommended
that the salary of the Sanitary Superintendent, Mr. Collingwood, be raised from
£4 to £5 per week and the Committee also expressed the high value they placed
on Mr. Collingwood's services over a period of 19 years.
1887 was distinguished by a severe outbreak of scarlet fever, there being
588 cases with 63 deaths.
Dr. Tidy's hope that infectious diseases would become compulsorily notifiable
was realised in 1889 by the passing of the Infectious Diseases Notification Act.
Apparently it was made compulsory in London for the London Vestries, but
remained adoptive only outside London, although the majority of Sanitary Districts
did, in fact, agree to adopt the Act.
The first Sanitary Superintendent, Mr. Collingwood died in this year, remaining
on duty almost to the last.
Dr. Tidy died in 1891 and was succeeded by Dr. Alfred Edwin Harris who
remained Medical Officer of Health for 30 years.
The Parish was now almost completely built up with a Census population
of 319,430, an increase of over 36,000 or 11.3 per cent since 1881. There was an
estimated number of 8.3 inhabitants to each house.
Infant mortality had hardly improved since earlier years, and summer diarrhoea
was still a major infantile risk.
Measles, on account of the pulmonary complications came next as a risk
and over a period of years, Dr. Harris pointed out that measles was ten times more