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9
So far the work of the department has been concentrated on dealing with complaints
and improving existing conditions. So serious is the housing shortage that little attempt
at direct slum clearance has been possible. This is a problem which obviously must be dealt
with in the near future, for while houses exist in the Borough which are unfit for human
habitation, or slums that ought to be condemned, those houses will be occupied and the slums
inhabited to the detriment of the health of the district. In due course housing and slum
clearance must take place side by side. In the meanwhile, as basements which are unfit for
human habitation or, for that matter, parts of houses in the same condition become vacant,
steps are being taken to place closing orders upon them ; and during 1948 closing orders
were made concerning 57 rooms. This procedure is absolutely essential, for if these rooms
were not closed they would be re-occupied immediately and the persons inhabiting them in
due course would demand re-housing by the Borough Council on the plea that they were
living in accommodation unfit for human habitation. In every case an opportunity is given
to the landlord to carry out work to render the rooms fit for habitation, or if this is not
economically sound he may be allowed to use them for such purposes as will not cause injury
to health as, for instance, storage. In fact, during the year five basement rooms were re-opened,
work having been carried out to make them conform with the appropriate regulations.
The total number of visits paid by sanitary inspectors in connection with general complaints,
licensed premises, outworkers and underground rooms amounted to no less than 45,209:
nearly 8,000 more visits than last year.
The Hygiene of Food.
During 1948, 7,713 visits were paid in respect of premises where food is prepared or sold,
440 to bakehouses and 1,129 to restaurant kitchens. 1,545 samples of food were taken for
analysis. It is, however, not sufficient to pay visits, to serve notices, to condemn food and
to take legal proceedings where necessary. These are, indeed, methods of preventing the
sale of food unfit for human consumption, but they do not succeed in educating manufacturers
of food, food handlers and the public in general as to methods of preventing food contamination;
and it is the duty of a public health department to see that by means of understanding and
education standards of hygiene are steadily improved. In this respect I believe that 1948
was a year of high achievement, marked by three separate campaigns: the first, to educate
the public and the trade generally in ideals of food hygiene, the second to secure an improvement
in the conditions of ice cream, and the third a survey of licensed premises in the Borough.
May I deal with each of these in turn?
In late 1947 the Public Health Committee considered methods of education in food
hygiene and later determined on the steps that should be taken in the Borough. A programme
was adopted which included the attendance of your sanitary inspectors at a special course
of instruction, the calling of a town's meeting of all those interested in food trades in the
Borough, and a series of lectures to those responsible for the preparation and handling of
food. Your Health Department has had the full and active co-operation of every trade in
the Borough concerned with food. The town's meeting was held in June, 1948, when
representatives of the following trades and organisations attended:—
British Medical Association.
St. Pancras Chamber of Commerce.
Licensed Victuallers Association.
St. Pancras Master Bakers.
St. Pancras Butchers' Committee.
London District Grocers' and Provisions Committee.