London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Southwark 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, Borough of]
This page requires JavaScript
This is a most serious prospect, butr unfortunately again so many cases with more serious diseases require rehousing that special recommendation can be made only in extreme instances of mental debility, aggravated by their envirnmental conditions.
| Recommendations | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases recommended to L.C.C. on grounds of Tuberculosis | 101 | 136 | 51 |
| Cases recommended to L.C.C. on other medical grounds | 48 | 69 | 101 |
| Cases recommended to Southwark Borough Council on Medical Grounds | 24 | 92 | 107 |
| Total cases recommended | 173 | 297 | 259 |
This is a most serious prospect, butr unfortunately again so many cases with more serious diseases require rehousing that special recommendation can be made only in extreme instances of mental debility, aggravated by their envirnmental conditions.
| Rehoused | 1947 | 1948 | 1949 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cases rehoused by L.C.C. on grounds of Tuberculosis | 33 | 49 | 43 |
| Cases rehoused by L.C.C. on medical grounds | 16 | 28 | 48 |
| Cases rehoused by Southwark Borough Council on grounds of Tuberculosis | 19 | 4 | Nil |
| Cases rehoused by Southwark Borough Council on medical grounds | 6 | 22 | 24 |
| Total cases rehoused | 74 | 103 | 115 |
Overcrowding.
The problem of overcrowding in present day conditions is
now a matter more of degree and circumstances rather than
technical enforcement of the Housing Act. Overcrowding
caused merely by increases in family or in their ages are dealt
with as soon as possible, but obviously with the present
restricted accommodation, much that is socially undesirable
and technically illegal cannot unfortunately be remedied
as quickly as one would wish.
The question of degree also arises in cases of illegal overcrowding.
There is for instance, the family who takes pity on
a relative who for some reason is temporarily homeless; or the
mother and father from the provinces who leave their family
at home while they come to London, and having ultimately
found some accommodation for themselves, later send for their
family to come and live with them in the most overcrowded
conditions, without the knowledge or consent of the owner.
There are similar, but even more wilful cases where persons
overcrowd themselves under the impression that the local
authority is therefore obliged to rehouse them. Fundamentally