London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Marylebone 1938
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for St. Marylebone, Metropolitan Borough]
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(5) Measures taken by way of supervision or education of tenants to prevent
infestation or re-infestation after cleansing:—
A woman sanitary inspector (Miss Margaret Sharp) devotes the whole
of her time to the matters referred to in this heading, and her work continued
on the lines indicated in the report for 1937. Table 27 provides
evidence that improvement has taken place since her appointment in
November, 1934. It may be noted that instances of the slightest infestation
or of re-infestation are included in the figures given.
TABLE 27.
| Municipal or privately owned. | Flats first occupied. | Total number of flats. | Number found to be verminous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flats. | Year. | |||
| Municipal | Prior to 1935 | 303 | 201 | 1935 |
| 96 | 1936 | |||
| 70 | 1937 | |||
| 63 | 1938 | |||
| Municipal | December, 1935 | 60 | 17 | 1936 |
| 15 | 1937 | |||
| 10 | 1938 | |||
| Municipal | February, 1937 | 72 | 8 | 1937 |
| 5 | 1938 | |||
| Privately owned | Prior to 1936 | 204 | 59 | 1936 |
| 30 | 1937 | |||
| 25 | 1938 | |||
During May, Miss Sharp and one of the male sanitary inspectors
specially concerned with vermin disinfestation attended a course of lectures
and demonstrations on the subject, organised by the Royal Sanitary
Institute.
CLEANSING OF VERMINOUS PERSONS.
The new Cleansing Station, which forms parts of Health Centre No. 2 at No.
217, Lisson Grove, was brought into use at the beginning of the year. The numbers
of adults and school children using the baths during 1938 were 714 (535 males, 179
females) and 3,575 (1,070 boys, 2,505 girls) respectively.
SHELTER.
The shelter included as part of Health Centre No. 2 under section 195 (4) of
the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, became available for occupation at the
beginning of 1938, and during the year two families (eight persons) made use of the
accommodation.
RAT REPRESSION.
Though activity in this connection continues unabated, the number of complaints
received varies little year by year. In 1933 it reached 49, in 1934, 44, in
1935, 45, in 1936, 42, in 1937, 43, and in 1938, 48. The slight increase in the number
of complaints received and of premises inspected was due mainly to the demolition
of old buildings and sites left vacant for a while pending development. In a number
of these cases infestations of a temporary nature occurred. The investigation of
the complaints necessitated the inspection of 71 premises, 38 of which were found
to be rat infested. Included in this latter number were 12 business premises (6 of
these for the preparation or storage of food), 23 private or tenement houses and