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
St Pancras 1924
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Pancras, Metropolitan Borough]
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The following table shows the number of persons cleansed and disinfected after having been in contact with infectious disease : —
| Males. | Females. | Children under 10. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small-pox | 1 | — | — |
| Scarlet Fever | 1 | 1 | — |
| Puerperal Fever | — | — |
Cleansing Station.
The amount of work done here during the year is indicated in the following table. The figures represent the number of attendances. At each attendance the person receives a bath, and his or her clothes are stoved.
| Men. | Women. | Children under 15. | Total. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Pancras Cases | Vermin | 1088 | 31 | 3769 | *4888 | ||
| Scabies | 11 | 7 | 603 | 621 | |||
| Cases from outside St. Pancras | Vermin | 32 | 3 | 739 | 774 | ||
| Scabies | 2 | — | 133 | 135 | |||
| Vermin | 1120 | 34 | 4508 | 5662 | |||
| Scabies | 13 | 7 | 736 | 756 | |||
| Totals | 1133 | 41 | 5244 | 6418 | |||
• Includes 568 males and 8 females who had no home address,
THE MORTUARY.
This is an old building and very inadequate as regards accommodation. The postmortem
room is small and its fittings antiquated in type, insanitary and defective. These
conditions tend to make the duties which have to be performed there even more difficult and
unpleasant. Early in the year a Sub-Committee was appointed to consider the matter, and the
following recommendations have been approved:—The present viewing room to be used as a
post-mortem room, the floor to be relaid, the walls enamelled, and the lighting and ventilation
improved. Two new post-mortem tables of modern type to be provided, together with handbasin,
sinks, etc., and a constant supply of hot water from the boiler of the disinfecting station,
which is near. The adjoining room to be used as a viewing room and made to communicate
with the post-mortem room by means of folding doors; the old post-mortem room to be used
as a mortuary for the reception of infectious cases.
The work of carrying out the above very necessary improvements is now in progress,
and should be completed early in the year.