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
St George (Southwark) 1896
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Southwark, The Vestry of the Parish of St. George the Martyr]
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45
Annual Report of the Medical Officer of Health.—1896.
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| Vestry of St. George's Hanover Square | Yes, if walls are dirty | Yes |
| The Board of Works for the St. Giles District | Wherever an infectious disease occurs in premises within this District, notices are immediately served upon the master of the house to disinfect the room in which the patient has been, and when this work has been done a further notice is served, under the Public Health Act, requiring him to strip the walls, and cleanse and limewhite the ceiling, &c. | I cannot recollect any instance within the past ten years in which it has been necessary to take any proceedings before a magistrate for non-compliance with such notice |
| District Board of Greenwich | This Board carries out the requirements of the Public Health (Lond.) Act, 1891 | |
| Vestry of Hackney | No—The cleansing, i.e. stripping of walls and washing with carbolic acid and water, also whitewashing, is done by the Vestry in scarlet fever and special cases only, unless the "person upon whom the notice is served gives information within 24 hours that he will do the disinfection and cleansing." See sec. 60 Public Health (Lond.) Act, 1891 | Something over a fourth of the total number of rooms which require cleansing have been done by the "Master" of the house, or by the "Owner" for him |
| Vestry of Hammersmith | No | |
| Vestry of Hampstead | Yes, if necessary | Yes |
| Vestry of St. Mary, Islington | Yes | They are not. There is no resort to the magistrate, because under sec. 60 of the P.H. (Lond.) Act, 1891, the duty devolves on the Vestry when the owner fails to comply with the notice. At the present time 10 men are employed on this work, at a weekly wage of 30s. each |
| Vestry of St. James, Westminster | Not in all cases—Only where the walls, &c., are in a dirty condition | |
| Vestry of St. Mary Abbotts, Kensington | No | |
| Vestry of Lambeth | Yes | Yes; action would, of course, only be taken before the magistrate in the case of a room sufficiently dirty to enable such action to be taken under sec. 2, P.H. Act, 1891 |
| District Board of Limehouse | We serve notice to cleanse and disinfect | The notices are seldom complied with, and we do the work ourselves |