View report page

28
REPORT OF THE MEDICAL OFFICER OF HEALTH FOR 1957
Wandsworth and Battersea mortuaries was reviewed early in the
year, and for the purposes of this report it may be well to state
briefly the conditions that existed to that date and the conclusions
arrived at from that review. In 1946 a contribution of £250 was made
by the Council to the Battersea Borough Council towards the running
costs of that Council's mortuary at Sheepcote Lane, S.W.I 1., owing
to the number of bodies taken there from the Borough of Wandsworth
and this contribution was renewed annually. The Battersea mortuary
is nearer to considerable areas of Wandsworth than is the Council's
mortuary in York Road, and large areas of the Borough are approximately
equidistant from the two mortuaries. There is also a Coroner's
Court adjoining the Battersea mortuary, while Wandsworth has no
such Court. Bodies have also been admitted to the Wandsworth
mortuary during the above mentioned period.
In April, 1956, arrangements were made with the Battersea
Borough Council to place its mortuary at the disposal of this
Council pending consideration as to the future use of the York Road
mortuary. During this time, H.M. Coroner for this district (which
includes the Boroughs of Wandsworth and Battersea) decided that
bodies upon which postmortem examinations were required from
the two Boroughs should be taken to the Battersea mortuary.
The whole question was most carefully considered and it was
decided that the Council's mortuary at York Road should be retained
for use as it might be required, particularly following a serious
catastrophe or during epidemic periods. Moreover, the Council have
a statutory obligation to provide mortuary accommodation. In view
of the Coroner's decision, however, the question of a further contribution
in respect of the additional bodies taken to the Battersea
mortuary was raised and after careful consideration of the recommendations
arising out of a discussion of the questions involved, by
the Chairman of the Council's Public Health Committee and the
appropriate member of the Battersea Borough Council, it was
decided:-
(a) that the existing annual payment of £250 be increased to
£475 in respect of the financial years 1956/1957 and 1957/1958
and that these arrangements be reviewed at the expiration of
the financial year 1957/1958 by which time further experience
would have been gained in the matter; and
(b) that in the event of the facilities at the Battersea mortuary being
fully extended during peak periods of the year or during an
epidemic, bodies from the area of the Battersea Borough
Council should be accommodated at Wandsworth mortuary
without any expense to the Battersea Borough Council.
The experience of the past year has shown that (ignoring major
emergencies or serious epidemics) the Battersea mortuary was able to
cope with the bodies from the whole area of Battersea and Wandsworth.
During this year, in addition to the reception of bodies of