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 1949
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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| Dirty and dilapidated internally | 43. |
| Defective internally | 38 |
| „ externally | 5 |
| „ drainage | 6 |
| „ area paving, &c. | 2 |
| „ floors | 12 |
| Preparation tables and equipment—Worn and insanitary | 7 |
| Food storage accommodation inadequate, unsuitable, &c. | 5 |
| Vegetable preparation and washing up facilities— Insufficient | 5 |
| Worn, insanitary | 4 |
| Ventilation insufficient | 19 |
| Washing facilities for staff, insufficient, unsuitable | 18 |
| Staff changing rooms insufficient, unsuitable | 1 |
| Rubbish, fuel and other extraneous materials in food preparation rooms | 6 |
| Arrangements in premises unsuitable (redesigning and resiting of equipment) , &c., necessary | 8 |
| Vermin— | |
| Cockroaches | 1 |
| Rats | 2 |
| Waterclosets— | |
| Insufficient | 2 |
| Insufficient ventilation and light | 3 |
| Defective | 8 |
| Dirty and dilapidated | 21 |
| Direct approach ... | 2 |
| Not separate for sexes | 1 |
| Unsuitable | 1 |
Catering Establishments.
During 1949, two Sanitary Inspectors continued to devote the whole
of their time to the inspection of restaurants, snack bars, public houses,
staff canteens and similar premises used for the preparation of food.
Further progress was made in the improvement of structural conditions
and amenities, and dining the year under review 1,207 primary inspections
were made of this type of premises. 405 notices were served under
various Statutes, principally the Food and Drugs Act, 1938. The
enforcement of the execution of the extensive works necessary to comply
with these notices involved 2,666 re-inspections. Hitherto, the determining
factor in the extent of improvements effected has been the amount
of building licences which could be obtained, but the decline in the
prosperity of the catering industry has rendered it much more difficult to
persuade restaurant proprietors to undertake the heavy capital expenditure
which is so often necessary to put many existing premises into
satisfactory condition.