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38
Rag Flock and Other Filling Materials Act, 1951
Under the provisions of this Act various types of premises concerned with the upholstery trade or with
the provision of materials for the trade must be registered or licensed with the local authority. At the end
of the year 14 premises were on the register and one was licensed for storage purposes.
Verminous Persons
The cleansing of persons' baths at Lissonia and Wedlake Street dealt with 721(728) verminous persons:
adults 507(571)—men 405(418), women 102(153); children 214(157)—boys 60(51), girls 154(106).
(Table 26, page 81).
Scabies
The two establishments mentioned in the foregoing paragraph treated 235(251) scabies patients; adults
151(178) — men 114(123), women 37(55); children 84(73)—boys 36 (35), girls 48(38).
The number of persons cleansed and the number treated for scabies at the Health Department centres
had shown a steady increase during the years 1966—1969. In 1970 there was a sudden decrease in
numbers attending and the decrease continued into 1971, so far as adults were concerned, although there
was a slight increase in attendances by children. (Table 27, page 82).
Bathing
Under the provisions of Section 43 of the London County Council (General Powers) Act, 1953 sanitary
authorities are empowered to make arrangements for bathing old people at their request or with their
consent. During the year 394(396) baths were given, 322(336) to women and 72(60) to men, under a
scheme for bathing old persons at the Lisson Grove Centre. The old people are conveyed between their
homes and the Centre by a Health Department vehicle.
Special Laundry Service
The Department continues to operate a service for laundering bed linen and clothing of the acutely ill,
incontinent or very dirty and verminous old people. In certain cases a certificate is given by the Medical
Officer of Health under the provisions of Section 84 of the Public Health Act 1936. The work has been
carried out by the staff of the Department's Laundries at 217 Lisson Grove and to a limited extent, at
Wedlake Street Baths.
During the year 11,325(11,182) bags each containing about 10 lbs. of soiled linen were collected,
laundered and returned to the owners.
This essential service is much appreciated by the recipients; and a special word of praise is again due to
the staff at the centre for the excellent way in which they carry out this work which is not only hard but
also unpleasant.
Disposable Incontinence Pads
Under Ministry of Health Circular 14/66 a service is provided for patients residing in Westminster (on
written application by a general practitioner or district nurse) whereby the patient is supplied free of charge
with disposable incontinence pads and, where required, protective rubber pants. These are either collected
by the patient or his representative from a convenient Centre, or, where necessary, delivered to the patient's
home by a Health Department van. If difficulty is experienced at the home in disposing of the soiled pads,
these are placed in disposable water-proof bags, collected by the van delivering new supplies and, through
the kind co-operation of St. Mary's Hospital, Harrow Road, taken to the hospital for incineration.
During the year under review 156(136) new cases arose, making a total of 274(258) persons who
received deliveries of supplies in their homes, whilst 14(18) arranged for them to be collected from
Centres.
It is of interest to note that in 1971 145,100 disposable incontinence pads and 152 pairs of protective
pants were issued.
Establishments for Massage or Special Treatment
The City Council is responsible for the licencing and regulation of establishments for massage or special
treatment in the City.