View report page

12
I think a very good case could be made out for carrying out home work under a complete
system of supervision. A few points occur to me immediately:—
(1) There is a considerable shortage of factory space in the country. Home work
carried out under suitable conditions could relieve much of this shortage.
(2) There is in the Borough of St. Pancras a shortage of day nursery accommodation.
The cost of a day nursery is between £2 10s. Od. and £3 per child per week, to
which the parents contribute about 5s. a week. The woman who goes out to work
and places her child in a nursery is subsidised therefore by approximately £2 10s. Od.
a week. It has yet to be proved that medically it is wise to congregate together a large
number of young children, for they tend to contract infections which otherwise they
might avoid or which might be delayed until a time when these infections were associated
with less risk, as for instance, measles and whooping cough. There is much to be said
for the young mother staying at home and looking after her baby and carrying out
home work rather than placing her child in a nursery and going out to work.
(3) I have been much impressed by some of the skilled work and the independence
of some outworkers in the Borough. In the case of the aged and crippled, outwork
can be a blessing, both because it occupies hours otherwise empty and because it grants
independence and increases the individual's income.
The actual figures relating to outwork will be found within the pages of this report.
Medical Examinations.
During the course of the year I carried out 86 medical examinations, 65 being in respect
of new entrants and 21 of existing staff.
Conclusion.
This survey of the activities of the Public Health Department indicates the huge amount
of work clamouring for accomplishment, each sphere of activity vying with the others in urgency.
The efforts of the public health services in the past have resulted in lowering the incidence of
infantile and maternal mortality as well as infectious diseases, some of which are now rendered
almost non-existent.
These advances are noted. Environmental conditions in the Borough, however, are
not yet satisfactory, as indicated in particular by the conditions in which many of your citizens
still live and work. Whilst infectious disease remains in our midst, whilst children die from
disease that can be prevented and one per cent, of the population is notified as suffering from
tuberculosis, and cases of food poisoning are still occurring, no Medical Officer of Health can
remain complacent.
May I take this opportunity once again of thanking the members of the Council for their
encouragement and courtesy at all times, and my colleagues in my own and other departments
for their continued co-operation and help.
I beg to remain,
Your Worship, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Your obedient Servant,
DENNIS H. GEFFEN,
Medical Officer of Health.