London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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City of Westminster 1902

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]

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36
that it is difficult t6 maintain a correct register, and special inspection of
outworkers. homes has not been made except in so far as the District
Inspectors have been able to include it in their ordinary work.
It is important that special inspection of such places should be
made, as, if the Council considers any of them to be in a state " injurious
or dangerous to the health of persons employed therein," steps may be
taken to prevent work being given out to persons using such places
(Section 118).
The number of outworkers on the register is now 1,532, the names of
349 having been added during 1902. 196 lists have been sent to
36 other authorities of persons living in their districts receiving work
from Westminster.
Infectious Disease and Workshops.—The small-pox outbreak necessitated
a considerable amount of supervision of workshops, especially such
engaged in tailoring and dressmaking. Work had to be stopped in a
number of instances, notices being served under Section 109; in no case
was there any infringement; on the contrary, employers willingly
cooperated, and several large firms sent daily lists of employes absent
from work, so that the reason for such absence might be investigated;
in most instances the illness was of a non-infectious nature, but several
cases of small-pox were thus detected.
Causes of Death and Occupation.—The accompanying Tables XXIII.
and XXIV. show the causes of death among males and females engaged
in occupation. For males the list is fairly reliable, but for women it is
not so, as the occupation may not be stated in the death certificate,
but wherever it has been given it has been recorded. The tables show
also the number of persons engaged in the various groups of occupations.
After a number of such tables have been compiled it may be possible
to gather from them whether any special fatality affects those engaged
in each trade, and, of course, in so doing it will be essential to compare
the population and deaths at various age periods.
Bakehouses.
In consequence of the bad condition of bakehouses, the Legislature
in 1863 passed the " Bakehouse Regulation Act," for the purpose of
limiting the hours of labour in bakehouses, making regulations with
respect to their cleanliness and ventilation, and placed them under the
supervision of the Local Authorities of the Metropolis.
From the reports of the Local Authorities, subsequent to the passing
of that Act, it appears that they caused inspection to be made of the
bakehouses within their districts, and served notices requiring them to
be brought into conformity with the Act. For some reason, probably