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
City of Westminster 1909
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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They may be summarised thus:—
| Sanitary accommodation— | Walls and ceilings dirty | 340 | |
| Insufficient | — | Rooms verminous | 48 |
| Not kept separate | 25 | Rooms overcrowded | 13 |
| Improper position | 1 | Rooms badly ventilated | 23 |
| Apparatus defective | 130 | Q-as stoves and heaters unventilated | 31 |
| Requiring cleansing | 56 | Other defects (dampness, defective roofs, floors, water supply, dust bins, &c.) | 167 |
| Ventilation defective | 6 | ||
| Drains, &c., defective | 73 | ||
In 23 instances statutory notices had to be served and 2 summonses
to be taken out before the work required was done. In several instances
where the rooms were dirty or verminous the outworker was seriously
warned, and in one instance work was stopped until the conditions were
improved.
It was unnecessary to stop their work except temporarily during the time disinfection was being carried out:—
| Smallpox. | Scarlet Fever. | Diphtheria. | Typhoid Fever. | Erysipelas. | Total. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing trades:— | ||||||
| (a) Business in family affected | - | 33 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 45 |
| (5) Business in other parts of house | - | 53 | 15 | - | 8 | 76 |
| (c) Persons from infected houses employed in clothing business elsewhere | 3 | 91 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 118 |
| Other home workers trades:— | 3 | 177 | 33 | 5 | 21 | 239 |
| (a) Business in family | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| (A) Business in other part of house | - | 1 | - | - | - | 1 |
| (c) Elsewhere | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | 3 |
In connection with Laundries there were cases in two of the above
three classes:—
(a) (b) (c)
In Receiving Shops — — —
Mangling only — — —
Washing, Ironing, &c. Scarlet Fever, 1 — Scarlet Fever, 2;
Diphtheria, 1.