London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Hornsey 1924

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Hornsey, Borough of]

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— 27 —
At Wightman Road Centre 3,947 Babies attended, with an
average of 31.8 per session. 2,821 Babies were seen by Doctor,
with an average of 22.7 per session. 218 Mothers were seen by
the Doctor at the Ante-natal Session and 297 at the Post-natal,
the average being 4.2 per session. 7,985 Visits were paid by
the Nurses.
HOUSING.
Hornsey is mainly a residential tow n of good-class houses,
but there are here and there some collections of inferior house
property. There is no slum area such as would be suited to a
reconstruction scheme. Frequent house-to-house inspection,
and the visits of inspectors on other occasions, serve to bring
to my notice houses which are insanitary and are not in all
respects reasonably fit for human habitation. These defects,
when discovered, are promptly remedied, and the houses in the
Borough can generally be described as reasonably sanitary, so
far as their structure is concerned. (Tables E and N.) But.
as I have pointed out in previous reports, the practice of subletting
and of taking in lodgers prevails to a considerable extent
in Hornsey, and in consequence two or more families may be
obliged to share a water-closet, a sink and a kitchen range; the
staircase may also be common property. What is everyone's
duty is nobody's, and the house and its fittings rapidly become
unclean, because each sub-tenant thinks that another ought to
do the cleaning. This congestion of several families under one
roof is economic in origin, and is not likely, to any great extent,
to be remedied by the Council's new Houses, although these
undeniably are eagerly sought by the more fortunate citizen
who is able to afford to pay a reasonable rent for a good building
HEALTH PROPAGANDA.
During the year the Medical Officer of Health delivered
lectures to the members of the Hornsey Burgesses' Association
and the Mothers and Fathers at both the Maternity and Child
Welfare Centres.
Courses of Health Talks to pupils at the Secondary Schools
in the Borough were also arranged, and these lectures were
given during the opening term of 1925.