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11
Personal Health Services
The local health authority is responsible for either providing these services or arranging for them
to be provided by some other organisation. In the Administrative County of London this matter is
the responsibility of the London County Council, and the services provided include maternity and
child welfare, vaccination and immunisation, health visiting, domestic help, day nurseries, midwifery,
ambulance and mental health.
The services available for the Borough are adequate and the majority of them are administered
from the Divisional Health Office, 313, Harrow Road, W.9.
New Legislation.
A list of the new Acts, Regulations and Orders, relating to the work of the Department, is given in
Table 25, page 39.
SECTION C.—SANITARY CIRCUMSTANCES
Sanitary Inspection.
The Borough is divided into five areas, each of which is dealt with by a District Public Health
Inspector. Inspection of dwelling-houses is summarised in Table 5, page 32.
Excluding rat and mouse infestations, 1,159 complaints were received and details of 1,024 various
nuisances remedied are shown in Table 6, page 33.
Notices.—Intimation Notices served under the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, numbered 388
and 59 of these were followed by the service of Statutory Notices to secure abatement of nuisances.
In addition, nine other formal notices were served as follows: three for the cleansing of water storage
cisterns and six for the provision of artificial lighting on common staircases—as required by the
Borough Council's Byelaws. For offences under London County Council Byelaws, twenty-six notices
were served, thirteen being in respect of water-closets, twelve for drainage defects, and one requiring
proper maintenance of dustbins.
Legal Proceedings.
No legal proceedings under the provisions of the Public Health (London) Act, 1936, were necessary
Noise
Seventy-four complaints of noise were received and these concerned 43 alleged nuisances and
necessitated 254 visits by the Public Health Inspectors. A substantial proportion of the complaints
were of noise coming from building sites, demolitions, and engineering works and operations, which
may be summarised as follows:—
Pneumatic and other drills 8
Water pumps 2
Compressors 5
Crane 1
General works 6
Frequently the complaints were of noise from these sources occurring late at night and during
week-ends but, as in recent years, it was found that the various contractors against whom complaint
was made generally appreciated the situation and offered willing co-operation in seeking and applying
noise reducing methods, even, to some extent, at the loss of efficiency or restriction of hours of
working.
The remainder of the supposed causes were as follows, namely:—
Workshops 5
Garages 3
Social functions, parties and noisy neighbours 3
Loading and unloading of vans 2
Ventilating plant 2
Slamming of car doors 2
Hot water system 1
Jazz band 1
Record player 1
High-pitched hum 1
The complaints were not always well-founded but, where justified, they were followed up and the
offending noise abated or reduced to a reasonable level. In certain cases where the Council had no
legal powers, informal action taken by the Public Health Inspectors or the Streets Nuisance Inspector
resulted in improved conditions.