View report page

38 Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
do for reasons fully explained to the Vestry. On the general question of attendance
upon patients by me, as Medical Officer, I advanced the three following objections :—
(1) My unfitness for this work, as I have given up active practice for many
years.
(2) Loss of time from regular duties.
(3) Friction with the medical men of the district who were attending the patients
in question.
The Vestry then applied to the Local Government Board for a decision, and
obtained the following reply :—
Local Government Board,
Whitehall, S.W.,
12th June, 1895.
Sir,
I am directed by the Local Government Board to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of the 23rd ultimo, relative to the duty undertaken by Dr. F. J. Waldo, the
Medical Officer of Health for the Parish of St. George the Martyr, Southwark, " to
attend, if required, the flushers and sewersmen, and. other employes of the Vestry
during illness," and requesting the Board's advice and guidance in the difficulty
which has arisen in regard thereto.
The Board have carefully considered the representations on the subject submitted
in your letter, and in the report of Dr. Waldo, which accompanied it. On
the general question, the Board would observe that as regards duties of a somewhat
analagous character which at times devolve on the Medical Officer of Health under
the Infectious Disease (Notification) Act, they have laid it down that even when
questions arise as to the good faith of a certifying medical practitioner, the Medical
Officer of Health should, if it becomes necessary to revise a certificate, not only seek
the co-operation of the medical practitioner concerned, but should also observe, as
far as possible, the customs that usually govern the relations of medical practitioners
to each other.
On the particular case submitted in your letter of the 23rd ultimo, the Board do
not gather that the undertaking entered into by Dr. Waldo, "to attend, if required,
"on certain employes during illness," involves an obligation on his part to revise
either the diagnoses or the certificate granted by other medical practitioners, who
have been called in "to attend " on such persons.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient Servant,
(Signed) D. E. KNOLLYS.
A. Millar Esq.,
Vestry Clerk,
St. George the Martyr, Southwark.
It was then decided by the Vestry to record the letter on the Minutes, and the
matter has since dropped.
Underground Workshops.*
The general tendency of civilised communities is to flock towards particular
centres of population. In order to make the most of costly ground, the builder tries
to gain in height what he lacks in breadth. Hence we see huge blocks of buildings
springing up on all sides. These lofty rows of houses, often on the sides of narrow
streets, prevent the circulation of air and the entrance of sunlight. In order to obviate
this particular danger the London Building Act of 1894 restricted the height of houses
in the metropolis to a maximum of 80 feet, and laid down certain definite relations to
be observed between the height of the houses and the width of the streets on which
A joint Paper by Drs. Waldo and Walsh, read before the British Medical Association at the
Annual Meeting, held in London in July, 1895. Beprinted from the British Medical Journal
31st August, 1895.