London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
View report page
Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Marylebone 1913
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
This page requires JavaScript
73
tenement house, immediately on receiving information from the department he
took steps to secure that the tenants should suffer no hardship as a result of
being deprived of water.
No complaints with regard to the water supplied were received during the year.
HOUSING.
During 1913 the arrangements made in connection with the carrying out of
house examinations remained unchanged.
House-to-house inspections were carried out by the house-to-house inspector who
made and kept records of the results of his inspections and referred premises that
were found to be defective to the Medical Officer of Health and the District Inspector
to be dealt with as appeared to be necessary.
The practice of communicating with owners in all cases in which it seemed
necessary to do something more than could be called for by the usual nuisance
notices, before making a report or representation to the Public Health Committee,
was continued. The results of this procedure were no less satisfactory than in previous
years. To repeat a statement made in the report for 1912—"Owners always showed
themselves to be willing to meet the Medical Officer of Health or the inspector
and discuss matters, and improvements of real value were undoubtedly obtained
because the necessity for them and the methods in which they could be brought
about were discussed in a friendly way."
Some of the improvements obtained as a result of such negotiations are shown
below:
Premises dealt with voluntarily under the Housing, Town Planning, &c. Act, 1909, during 1913.
| 14, Cochrane Street | Direct external light and ventilation provided to middle room on ground floor; water supply provided to upper storeys; several rooms cleansed. |
| 28, Cochrane Street | Direct external light and ventilation provided to middle room on ground floor; defective drinking water cistern abolished; supply obtained direct from main. |
| 58, Cochrane Street | Dilapidated building at rear demolished. Direct external light and ventilation provided to middle room on ground floor; water supply provided to upper storeys; yard and forecourt paving repaired; sanitary dust-bin provided, washing copper repaired; defective drinking water cistern abolished, supply obtained direct from main; several rooms, staircase and passage cleansed. Drains relaid. |