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
Barking 1920
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Barking]
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14
The cost of this preventative work, based on the number of
visits made, works out to about 2s. 6d. per visit. It is reasonable
to expect that as a result of this effort the chance of an infant
surviving for one year should be increased. The analysis of this
probability is difficult and intricate. It will be sufficient for the
present to state that the position is not so favourable as appears
on the surface, or is usually believed to be.
The distribution of the births with the size of families and number of rooms available is given in the following table :—
Occupants per Room—Year 1920.
| Rooms per Tenement. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Totals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | — | 2 | 48 | 14 | 8 | 3 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 76 |
| 2 | — | — | 46 | 35 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 117 |
| 3 | — | — | 16 | 22 | 21 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 88 |
| 4 | — | — | 37 | 82 | 106 | 108 | 74 | 59 | 55 | 21 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | 557 |
| 0 | — | — | 6 | 14 | 21 | 25 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | 135 |
| 6 | — | — | — | 7 | 9 | 7 | 4 | — | 3 | — | — | i | — | — | ||
| 7 | — | — | — | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | 5 |
| 8 | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 |
| 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Totals | — | 2 | 155 | 175 | 188 | 160 | 107 | 86 | 71 | 36 | 25 | 6 | 6 | 4 | — | 1027 |
In 233 instances out of 1,027 there were more than two
occupants to each room of the tenement. That is, in one case in
five the conditions are such that decency is hardly possible and
serious overcrowding exists. All these cases ought, of course, to
be removed to Hospital.
| Number of families supplied with one pint per day free of cost | 38 |