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ADMINISTRATION.
31
ADMINISTRATION.
GENERAL.
Staff of the Department.—The appointment of Mr. Binns as District Sanitary Inspector was
terminated on December 2nd last owing to incapacity due to an accident in the the execution of his
duty, such incapacity dating from April 4th. Mr. R. A. Jones, who was engaged on June 11th as
a temporary Inspector to take charge of Mr. Binns' District, was appointed to the Permanent
Staff in January, 1924. (See also p. 62.)
Prevention of Infectious Disease.—(Table 17.)—The visits of inquiry after notification of
infectious disease numbered 7,486 last year, as compared with 9,789 in 1922 and 6,835 in 1921. There
were in addition 2,223 visits in connection with tuberculosis by the Officers of the Department, supplementary
to the visits by the Tuberculosis Nurses to which reference has been made in the earlier pages
of this Report.
Last year 928 patients were removed to hospitals and other institutions for various diseases, other
than tuberculosis.
The Staff of the Paddington and St. Marylebone District Nursing Association had charge (in the
patients' homes) of 19 patients referred to the Association by the Department under the Agreement
with the Council which has been current since 1916. The figure just mentioned gives the number
officially referred by the Department to the Association. Many practitioners send in the Nurses
without reference to the Department, and the Nurses do much work (of which the Department has no
numerical record) in connection with the Tuberculosis Dispensaries. In 1922, 129 patients were
referred to the Association for the following diseases: Measles, 103; pneumonia, 18; whooping cough
and ophthalmia neonatorum, 4 each. Last year the 19 cases so referred comprised: Measles 2;
pneumonia, 10; whooping cough, 6 ; ophthalmia, 1.
Disinfection.—(Table 17.)—In consequence of the lessened prevalence of all forms of infectious
disease, except whooping cough, the number of rooms requiring disinfection fell from 4,061 in 1922
to 2,275, 238 after tuberculosis (216 in 1922), and 2,037 (3,845 in 1922) after all other diseases.
Similarly the weight of bedding, etc., removed for disinfection and cleansing fell from 36 tons in
1922 to just over 21 tons last year. The cost of this work during the past year was £904, as compared
with £1,484 in 1922. Fifty-three library books were disinfected during the year.
In October last Messrs. Armfield & Sons, Ltd., intimated that they wished to give up the work
of disinfection for the Borough which they had carried out on behalf of the late Vestry and of the
Council for over 50 years. For many years Paddington has been the only district in London, and
probably in the country, to entrust the work of disinfection and cleansing of infected goods to a
private firm.
On receiving Messrs. Armfields' notice to terminate the contract proposals were made to the
Council of the Royal Borough of Kensington for the use of plant provided by that Council. On
December 18th last the Council of this Borough resolved to enter into an Agreement with the Council
of Kensington whereby the latter Council would do all necessary disinfection at their Station in Wood
Lane for an experimental period of one year, beginning on April 1st of this year. The Council of this
Borough will provide the necessary transport to and from the Kensington Station.
Bacteriological Examinations.—The number of specimens sent to the Lister Institute increased
from 766 in 1922 to 881 last year, the annual average for 1918-22 being 880. The specimens comprised
533 "swabs" for diphtheria, of which 79 (14.8 per cent.) were found to be positive, 5 of blood
for enteric tests, of which 1 (20 per cent.) was found positive, and 343 of sputum from suspected cases
of tuberculosis, of which 67 (19.5 per cent.) were positive. In 1922 no specimens of blood were submitted,
the positive tests for diphtheria forming 18.1 per cent. of the swabs submitted, and those of
sputum 17.5. The proportion of positive results in each test appears to be fairly constant, the means
for 1918-22 being : Swabs, 14.2 per cent.; bloods, 21.4; and sputa, 17.7.
In February of last year proposals were put forward for the establishment of a central (municipal)
laboratory for the County. The proposals emanated from the Holborn Borough Council, but after
a circular letter from the Metropolitan Boroughs' Standing Joint Committee seeking the opinion of the
Council of this Borough had been dealt with no more was heard of the scheme.
Schools.—The "Exclusion Notices" sent out by the Department fell from 5,674 in 1922 to 3,309
last year, and the reports relating to cases in outlying schools, sent to the Medical Officers of Health
of the Districts concerned, from 549 to 258. The tables showing the distribution of sickness by schools
have been prepared as usual but are not included in this Report.
House Sanitation.—Summaries of the work of the Inspectors, other than that in connection
with tenement houses, during the years 1918-23 will be found in Table 18. The general impression of