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
Paddington 1903
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Paddington, Metropolitan Borough of]
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48
WORK OF THE DEPARTMENT.
It does appear desirable that, when a supply has been once provided to a house, such
supply should not be cut off for any purpose, except temporarily for repairs, until the house is
abandoned and demolished. That which happened in this case—that is, water cut off from a
house which at the time is uninhabited, but caretakers put in subsequently without restoration
of supply—may (and probably does) happen elsewhere, and grave nuisance be caused thereby.
The present law appears to be unequal to dealing with such cases.
Mortuaries.—The new buildings at Manor Place, Paddington Green, were taken into
use at the beginning of last year. The mortuary at Kensal Road is still in use, the proposed
alteration in the boundaries of the Coroners' districts, consequential on the formation of the
Borough, not having been effected.
During the year 304 bodies were received at the two Mortuaries, viz., 283 at Paddington Green Mortuary, and 21 at Kensal Road. The inquests held numbered 240, 98 being after post-mortem examination—See below.
| Paddington Green. | Kensal Road. | |
|---|---|---|
| Bodies Deposited | 283 | 21 |
| Inquest Cases | 221 | 19 |
| Post-mortem Examinations | 89 | 9 |
Schools and School Attendance.—During the year all the Public Elementary Schools
in the Borough were inspected, and repairs carried out where found necessary.
Under Sec. 55 (4) of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891, notices are sent to the head
teachers of all schools with reference to notified cases of infectious diseases. Similar notices
are sent of cases of non-notified diseases coming to the knowledge of the Department.
Further notices are sent at the conclusion of the case, i.e., after disinfection.
The notices despatched during the year numbered 2,660 in all1, viz.:—
| Notices. | Exclusion. | Re-admission. |
|---|---|---|
| For notified diseases | 686 | 686 |
| For other diseases | 911 | 377 |
In Tables 32 and 33 will be found the numbers of children attending the different schools
("P.A.") who were reported to be suffering from certain infectious diseases, also the numbers
of cases occurring in houses (or homes) whence children, other than the patients, attended
school ("P.N.A.").
From inquiries made in 1902 it was ascertained that the places provided at the Board
Schools numbered 8,438 in all, and those at Voluntary Schools, 14,560. The average
numbers of scholars in attendance are (approximately) 7,500 and 10,800 respectively.
The comparative incidence of disease in the two classes of school are set out below:—
| Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.A. | P.N.A. | P.A. | P.N.A. | |
| Board Schools | 15·4 (10·0)| | 5·3 (5·6) | 2·2 (7·6) | 2·9 (5·2) |
| Voluntary Schools | 8·1 (6·7) | 3·7 (2·8) | 3·0 (3·3) | 1·4 (3·0) |
The foregoing figures show that, as in former years, there is more infectious illness
among children attending Board Schools than among those attending Voluntary (or
Denominational) Schools.
Scarlet Fever.—In the Board Schools the cases of scarlet fever ("P.A." column) last vear
showed marked increases over the 1902 figures at
Amberley Road 8 cases in 1902; 27 in 1903.
Kilburn Lane 2 „ „ 15 „
* One hundred and eightv-six notices were also sent to the Librarian of the Queen's Park Public Library.
Formerly these notices were limited to cases of notified diseases, now all classes of infectious disease are included.
Lists of all known cases cf infectious illness are also sent daily to the Superintendents of the Public Baths and
Wash-houses.
† The italic figures in parentheses are those for 1902.