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 1953
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Westminster, City of]
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for cooling purposes, one for supplying boilers, and one is a stand-by in
case of fire. Satisfactory reports were received of 104 bacteriological
examinations and 20 chemical analyses of water from these wells.
One complaint of contaminated drinking water was received during
the year and this was found to be due to defective tank coverings allowing
rain water to enter storage tanks. This defect was immediately rectified.
Disinfection and Disinfestation.
| Rooms. | Articles. | Articles Destroyed | Articles Washed. | Vehicles. | Books. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disinfection | 431 | 12,627 | 5,582 | 1,459 | 14 | 784 |
| Disinfestation | 3,789 | 2,186 | 4,590 | — | 7 | — |
| Laundry towels | — | — | — | 6,138 | — | — |
Cleansing of Persons.
| Scabies. | Head Lice. | Body Lice. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cases. | Treatments . | Cases. | Treatments . | Cases. | Treatments. | |
| Men | 34 | 67 | 1 | 1 | 386 | 388 |
| Women | 33 | 77 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 23 |
| Children (including those under school age) | 33 | 112 | 154 | 162 | 2 | 2 |
Apart from the normal disinfection and cleansing of clothing, bedding,
&c., following infectious disease, assistance has been given to elderly and
infirm people being nursed by the District Nurses, by arranging for the
cleansing of bed linen which had become fouled and unwholesome.
Arrangements have also been carried out for the cleansing and disinfestation
of the clothing of old people prior to their being admitted into homes.
Vagrants who come voluntarily to the Cleansing Station or who are
brought by the Police are cleansed and their clothes disinfested.
Furniture of incoming tenants to the Council's housing estates, found
on inspection to be verminous, is fumigated with hydrocyanic acid gas
by a firm of contractors before transfer to new accommodation. It was
not found necessary to carry out any fumigations during the year.