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 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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Notices were served in respect of 814 defects discovered in 328 houses. They may be summarised thus :—
| 1913. | 1912. | 1913. | 1912. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanitary accommoda tion :— | Walls and ceilings dirty | 324 | 280 | ||
| Rooms verminous | 47 | 58 | |||
| Insufficient | 3 | 7 | Rooms overcrowded | 6 | 23 |
| Not kept separate | 44 | 50 | Rooms badly ventilated | 16 | 27 |
| Unsuitable | 5 | 4 | Gas stoves and heaters unventilated | 18 | 17 |
| Apparatus defective | 95 | 79 | |||
| Requiring cleansing | 39 | 82 | Other defects (dampness, defective roofs, floors, water supply, dust bins, &c.) | 192 | 156 |
| Ventilation defective | 1 | 10 | |||
| Drains, sinks, &o., defective | 24 | 37 | |||
In 16 instances statutory notices had to be served before the work
required was done. In several instances where the rooms were dirty
or verminous the outworker was seriously warned.
Two rooms used as workrooms were unfit to be so used, and the
tenant found other premises.
Infectious Disease.—A list of the cases of notifiable infectious diseases
which occurred in families engaged in the making, &c., of wearing
apparel, are given below. It was unnecessary to stop their work except
temporarily during the time disinfection was being carried out:—
Smallpox.
Scarlet
Fever.
Diphtheria
Typhoid
Fever.
Total.
Clothing trades:—
(а) Business in family affected - 6 (1) 5 (4) - 11 (5)
(b) Business in other parts of house - 6(6) 7(6) - 13(12)
(c) Persons from infected houses
employed in clothing business
elsewhere - 15 10 - 25
The figures in brackets represent outworkers' premises.
Laundries.—There are 43 laundries in which washing is done,
besides which there are a number of private houses in which mangling
only is done.
Notices were served to remedy various defects found on inspection.
These comprised:—
Walls dirty 3
W.c.'s and drains defective 2
Accumulation of refuse 1
Room adjoining used as a bedroom
1
Using w.c. lobby for cooking 1
Dampness 1
One case of scarlet fever occurred in rooms used as a laundry.