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 1915
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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Notices were served in respect of 717 defects discovered in 294 houses They may be summarised thus:—
| 1915. | 1915. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanitary accommodations— | Rooms verminous | 33 | |
| Insufficient | 2 | Rooms overcrowded | 5 |
| Not kept separate | 31 | Rooms badly ventilated | 13 |
| Apparatus defective | 68 | Other defects (dampness, defective roofs, floors, water supply, dust bins, &c.) | 306 |
| Requiring cleansing | 46 | ||
| Walls and ceilings dirty | 213 |
In 13 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 underground rooms used as workrooms were unfit to be so
used, and their use was discontinued.
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. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clothing trades:— | ||||
| (a) Business in family affected | — | 22 (15) | 13 (7) | — |
| (5) Business in other parts of house | — | 38 (29) | 9 (8) | — |
| (c) Persons from infected houses employed in clothing business elsewhere | — | 59 | 15 | — |
The figures in brackets represent outworkers' premises.
E. FOOD SUPPLY.
During 1915 visits have been paid to the various classes of business as follows:—
| Visits. | Notices served. | Visits. | Notices served. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dairies and Milkshops | 992 | 21 | Food-preserving works | 61 | 2 |
| Hotels, Restaurants and Eating houses | 3,545 | 198 | Greengrocers and Fruiterers | 263 | 1 |
| Fishmongers | 674 | 15 | Confectioners | 96 | 20 |
| Meat shops (various) | 483 | 22 | Aerated water makers | 2 | — |
| Provision shops | 391 | 2 | Breweries and Licensed Premises not included under "Hotels, &c." | 219 | 36 |
| Ice merchants | 6 | — | |||
| Bakehouses | 298 | 8 | |||
| Ice cream makers | 241 | 10 |
Intimations were served in respect of 417 premises, and 5 statutory
notices.