View report page

45
public mortuary, shelter baths, large disinfector, and the various
attendants employed at them; to supervise all repairs in connection
with them, to keep a watch on the consumption of gas,
coal, water and electricity, and so forth. So far as the women's
conveniences are concerned, Miss Raker and Miss Johnson take
it in turn to visit these, Miss Baker doing the larger part of the
work, and anything which requires repairing or renewing, etc., is
reported to your Medical Officer of Health for the attention of
the Outdoor Superintendent. The staff of District Inspectors
was found to be insufficient to thoroughly carry out the
important works of inspection of tenement houses and underground
rooms, infectious disease control, and house-to-house
inspection. Their districts were therefore re-arranged and an
additional Inspector was appointed. Further, it was deemed
advisable, in view of the great importance of the subject, to
appoint a special Food Inspector to carry out the duties under
the Sale of Food and Drugs Act, the inspection of bakehouses,
coffee shops, restaurants, hotel kitchens, slaughterhouses, cowhouses,
dairies and milkshops, street meat markets, etc., etc.
The principle was recognised in planning out the duties of the
Inspectors that Inspectors should be Inspectors and Clerks
Clerks, and as a necessary corollary to this the further principle
that an Inspector's first duty lies in his district and not in the
office. Special rules were therefore framed for everyone in the
department, the object being in framing those rules to make
everyone do certain things at certain times, to make them
account for every part of their day as far as possible, and last,
but not least, to establish a system which would enable your
Medical Officer of Health to follow the Inspectors in their work
and see that it was honestly carried out. A large number of
minor matters in connection with the control of infectious
disease, the supervision of drainage works, the inspection of
food and of tenement dwellings and underground rooms, the
checking of smoke nuisances, the inspection of factories, workshops,
workplaces, and outworkers' premises, the issue of water
certificates for new houses, the taking of legal proceedings, etc.,
etc., were also dealt with.
The work of your Lady Sanitary Inspectors is increasing
both in amount and in responsibility. During 1908 it was
found necessary to employ a temporary Inspector to assist them
during four months of the year. At the time of writing this
report it has been decided to appoint a temporary Inspector to
assist them during three months at least of this year. It will be
necessary in a short time to make a permanent addition to this
part of the staff. It may also be necessary to provide additional
help in the office work. The mere fact that the postage account
increased from £13 17s. Id. in 1907, to £30 17s. o½d. in 1908,