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Stoke Newington.
(a) Articles of bedding and clothing.—The vestry have made arrangements with the sanitary
authority of Islington for disinfection of articles in the steam apparatus provided by the latter authority.
Articles are enclosed in sacks and conveyed to and from premises in hand trucks provided by the
Vestry of Stoke Newington, a separate truck being reserved for use before and after disinfection. The
disinfection is carried out by the officer employed for this purpose by the Islington authority. The
hand trucks are kept at the depot in Stoke Newington.
In mild cases of diphtheria, membranous croup, or erysipelas articles are not removed to be
disinfected by steam, except at the expressed desire of those in charge of the patient.
(b) Rooms.—Rooms are disinfected before the removal of articles for steam disinfection. For
the purpose fumigation by formalin is practised, twenty tablets of " formalin" being used for each
1,000 cubic feet of space, with an additional ten tablets for any space over and above a thousand.
The room is kept closed for at least six hours, and upon being opened by the vestry's disinfecting
assistant the occupier is advised to leave doors and windows open so that the room may be freely
exposed to the fresh air for four hours. It is stated that in practice it is nearly always possible to
commence the disinfection of a room early in the day as the removal of cases to hospital is generally
effected sufficiently early to ensure this, therefore it is not often necessary to keep a room closed overnight.
After a room has been fumigated the houesholder is advised to scrub the floor and woodwork
with a disinfectant solution.
In cases of smallpox and scarlet fever, unless the patient has been promptly removed tohospital,
wall-paper is stripped off and the ceiling is limewashed. In other cases, if the room be dirty,
notice to strip and cleanse is served.
No charge is ever made for disinfection.
Disinfection after occurrence of a case of notifiable infectious disease is chiefly carried out by
the sanitary authority. Thus during 1897, out of 194 houses disinfected, 159 were done by the vestry.
Temporary shelter.—Accommodation for this purpose has not been provided. Difficulty was
experienced in obtaining a site when the matter was under consideration, and it is stated that up tothe
present time the need for the use of a temporary shelter has not been felt.
Hackney.
(a) Articles of clothing, &c.—A disinfecting station has been erected at Hackney-wick. It
consists of a building with a small yard attached, and is approached by two gateways opening into
this yard, whence two doors lead into the two chambers between which the disinfecting apparatus
is placed. A Washington Lyons disinfecting oven is in use. The walls of each chamber are tiled.
For fetching and returning articles two horse-vans have been provided.
(b) Rooms.—These are disinfected by fumigation with sulphur, before the removal of the bedding
and clothes. In all cases of scarlet fever, smallpox, and occasionally in others, the walls of the room
are stripped, limewhited, and the room washed out by men employed by the vestry specially for this
purpose.
No charge is ever made for disinfection.
Practically all the disinfection in the district is carried out by the sanitary authority. A few
cases occur in each year in which householders prefer to make their own arrangements. In such
cases a medical certificate is always required by the vestry, and inquiry as to what steps have been
taken is often made.
Temporary shelter.—Premises for the use of persons during the disinfection of their rooms are
about to be built. No provision has yet been made, but the sanitary authority pay the expenses
of persons who have to find accommodation during the disinfection of their rooms.
St. Giles.
(a) Articles of clothing and bedding.—The Board of Works have provided, in the stone-yard at
the rear of the town hall, a Washington Lyons disinfecting oven, in which articles are disinfected by
means of steam. The building in which the apparatus is erected contains two chambers, one for
infected, one for disinfected articles, and into each chamber the apparatus has an opening. The process
takes from 45 minutes to an hour. The articles are fetched from and returned to houses in separate
hand trucks.
(b) Rooms.— Room disinfection is effected by fumigation with sulphur, this being done by an
officer of the board. Notice is always served to strip walls and to limewash ; this is generally complied
with. Instructions are also given in each case to householders to wash floors and woodwork and
furniture with a disinfectant.
No charge is made for disinfection, except when the householder requires it done out of office
hours, then a fee of ten shillings is charged.
Practically all disinfection is done by the sanitary authority, but a few cases occur in which
householders prefer to make their own arrangements for the purpose, in which case the disinfection is
certified by the medical practitioner as having been satisfactorily carried out.
Temporary shelter.—For this purpose, two rooms at the coroner's court, viz., the waiting room
and the witnesses' room, together with the use of lavatory and water-closet, are available. It is stated
that so far the need for their use in this connection has not arisen.
St. Martin-in-the-Fields.
(a) Articles of clothing, &c. — The sanitary authority contract with a private firm for the disinfection
by steam of articles of clothing and bedding.
(b) Rooms.—These are disinfected by the contractor. Fumigation by means of burning sulphur
is practised.
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