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57
Health Committee thereupon reported to the Council, and the following recommendation of the
•Committee was adopted by the Council—
That the Council do express an opinion for the guidance of sanitary authorities to the following effect—
(1.) That dry heat disinfecting apparatus should be replaced by proper and efficient steam apparatus.
(2.) That the system of arranging with a contractor for the disinfection of infected articles is not an
entirely satisfactory one.
(3.) That in view of the difficulty of obtaining suitable sites for the erection of disinfecting apparatus
in central districts of London, economy might be effected if sanitary authorities were to combine in the
manner provided by Section 59 (2) of the Public Health (London) Act, 1891.
(4.) That advantage might be gained if in connection with the machinery for disinfection a laundry
were provided where articles which can be boiled could be thus treated and returned in a clean disinfected
•condition to their owners.
(5.) That in every case separate vehicles should be provided for the conveyance of infected and
disinfected articles respectively.
(6.) That sanitary authorities who have not yet done so should be urged to provide free of charge, in
accordance with Section 60 of the Public Health Act, temporary shelter or house accommodation, with
any necessary attendants, for the members of any family who may have been compelled to leave their
dwellings for the purpose of enabling such dwellings to be disinfected by the sanitary authority, and also
to make such provision well known among the inhabitants of their districts.
(7.) That this accommodation should be of a kind which would induce the inhabitants to make use
of it.
(8.) That a copy of the medical officer's report, together with the Council's views on the subject, be
sent to each sanitary authority in London for its consideration.
At the time of inquiry for this report the provision made in the several districts was as follows—
Districts provided with steam apparatus.
1. St. George, Hanover-square 9. Mile-end Old-town
2. St. James, Westminster 10. Bermondsey
3. Hampstead 11. Camberwell
4. St. Pancras 12. Greenwich (in course of erection)
5. St. Giles 13. Deptford
6. Strand 14. Woolwich
7. Shoreditch 15. Plumstead (parish of Plumstead)
8. Bethnal-green 16. Lambeth
Districts provided with dry-heat apparatus.
1. Hammersmith 8. Limehouse
2. Chelsea 9. Poplar
3. St. Marylebone 10. St. Saviour
4. Hackney 11. St. George-the-Martyr
5. Clerkenwell 12. Newington
6. St. Luke 13. Lewisham
7. Whitechapel 14. Plumstead (parish of Lee)
The districts which had not made any provision of their own, bid which depended on the
services of a contractor.
1. Paddington (steam) 6. St. Martin-in-the-Fields (dry heat and
2. Kensington (dry heat principally steam)
used, steam when beds are in a 7. Holborn (steam)
foul condition) 8. St. Olave (steam)
3. Fulham (steam) 9. Rotherhithe (steam)
4. Westminster (steam) 10. Battersea (steam)
5. Islington (steam) 11. Wandsworth (steam)
In St. George-in-the-East and in the parishes of Charlton and Eltham no apparatus for
disinfection was available. The vestry of St. George-in-the-East made an attempt to arrange with
another authority for the disinfection of infected articles in its district, but no agreement was
arrived at with regard to this matter during 1893.
The reports of the medical officers of health show that during the year steam apparatus was
provided in Chelsea, Whitechapel, Hackney and St. Olave, the last being placed in the grounds of
Guy's Hospital. Both the medical officers of health of Poplar condemn the apparatus in use in that
district as inefficient.
The following arrangements existed in 1893, for the destruction of infected articles—
Kensington—By contract.
Hammersmith—Burnt in a heap on the ground at the vestry's wharf after being saturated
with paraffin.
Fulham—By contractor, who has a cremator erected for the purpose.
Chelsea—Burnt at one of the vestry's wharves. No special apparatus.
St. George, Hanover-square—Burnt in a destructor erected at a cost of £170. The fumes from
the burning material before escaping pass through the furnace of the disinfector.
Westminster—No provision. Contractor who disinfects could destroy if necessary.
St. James—When occasion requires, bedding is burnt in the large furnaces for the steam boilers
at the baths and washhouses.
Marylebone—No special appliance.
Hampstead—Small articles burnt in open yard, large articles in the destructor.
St. Pancras—Destroyed in a furnace capable of burning a dozen beds at one time.
Islington—Destroyed in a large furnace belonging to the vestry, who have decided to build
a crematorium.
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