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 1935
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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The Council's sanitary inspectors are required to visit schools to
inform head teachers personally after inspecting homes from which school
children, suffering from notifiable infectious disease, have been removed
to hospital, and also to acquaint the teachers as to home contacts attending
the same school. This is in addition to the written intimation from
the Medical Officer of Health to the head teacher as required by law.
At the following nine schools additions or improvements were made to the sanitary arrangements during the year :—
| Ecole de Notre Dame de France. | St. Martin's, Adelaide Street. |
| Greycoat Hospital. | St. Martin's, Castle Street. |
| Millbank. | Warwick Senior. |
| St. Margaret's. | Westminster Technical Institute. |
Westminster School, Dean's Yard.
Fouling of Footways by Dogs.—By-law—Eighteen cases of infringement
of the by-law were reported to the Council by the Commissioner of Police.
In each instance the offender was prosecuted and a conviction obtained.
The penalties inflicted varied from 2s. to 10s. and totalled, with costs,
£4 14s. 0d.
Rat Repression.—During the year 142 complaints were received and
investigated, 492 inspections being made by the sanitary inspectors.
The Council's rat officer visited 35 premises for the purpose of investigation
and to advise owners and occupiers as to the steps to be taken to rid
premises of rats and to instruct them in measures of rat proofing. He paid
altogether 185 visits to these premises.
At the request of the department, the City Engineer's staff examined
the sewer connections of some 94 premises, of which 35 were found to be
defective and were subsequently repaired or renewed. Several complaints
relating to invasion of premises by rats disturbed in the course of demolition
operations in adjoining properties were dealt with during the year.
The staff of the Works Department have, in addition to laying baits
in the sewers throughout the year, treated several small sections of sewers
with anti-rat gas.
During "Rat Week" in November, circulars of advice on methods
of rat destruction and prevention were distributed to householders and
others, particularly to those dealing in foodstuffs, restaurants etc. A total
of 13,650 baits were laid in the sewers and 993 at the council's depots, etc.
The number of dead rats discovered was small, but the baits were reported
to have been taken freely.
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