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245 [1913
This is a long taie of work, which, to do thoroughly, would require a
considerable increase in the staff ; nevertheless, as much of it is done as can
possibly be expected. There are certain inquiries or visits which must be
made day by day, that is to say, those relating to the cases of infectious diseases
that are notified by the medical profession, as well as those which are notified
by the teachers of the schools and by other persons ; as must also, in most
instances, the homes of the verminous school children. Much of this work
could, and ought, to be done by women, who are in every way more suitable
for it, and some day will be done by them in conjunction with other work
relating to young life, which is certain to devolve on the sanitary authorities
of this country, and for the proper performance of which it is expected they
will get relief from imperial funds. At all events, as things are in Islington,
and it is no exceptional place, it is not possible to make house to house
inspections to the extent the Housing and Town Planning Act authorises,
and which the Local Government Board anticipate should be done.
The Medical Officer of Health has no fault to find with the amount
of work performed by District Inspectors, but he cannot close his eyes to the
fact that they cannot do all the work devolving on them, especially that
relating to house to house inspection as required by the Housing and Town
Planning Act, 1910.
Altogether 6'2,447 inspections, visits, and calls were made by the inspectors
in connection with the various branches of their work and these related to
6,356 separate premises.
The inspections included 83 to ice cream shops or places where it is
made ; 1,043 to dairies and milkshops ; 370 to stables ; 1,114 to yards ; 84 to
manure depots ; 185 to vacant land, passages. and courts ; 562 to public
house urinals ; 37 to houses for which applications for Customs and Inland
Revenue Act certificates were made ; and 45 to houses for which water
certificates were required.
The details of the work performed in each inspector's district is set out
in Table CX.
House to House Inspections.—These showed a decrease of 178 on
the return for 1912. This was, however, through no fault of the staff, whose
time, as already explained, was fully occupied in other directions, which
demanded their daily attention. Altogether 732 inspections were made, as
contrasted with 910 in the preceding year, and with 701 in 1912. It has