London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972

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Beckenham 1959

[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Beckenham]

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Ice Cream
Twenty samples of Ice Cream were submitted to chemical analysis
during 1959, and all were found to comply with the statutory standard
for this product.
Fifty-nine samples were submitted to bacteriological examination,
as a result of which the samples are graded into four degrees of bacterial
cleanliness. The results were as follows:—
Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4
44 12 1 2
Samples falling into Grades 3 and 4 are regarded as unsatisfactory,
indicating some bacterial contamination either in the manufacture or
the retail serving of the product.
Three of our samples fall into these Grades, and although there
was no evidence of contamination by pathogenic organisms, immediate
checks were made on the manufacturing plant through the co-operation
of the Authority in whose area the manufacture took place, and in the
Beckenham retail shop. The offending stocks were immediately
withdrawn from sale, the replacement supplies proved on examination,
to be entirely satisfactory.
Rent Act, 1957
The details of the administration of this Act were referred to fully
in the 1957 Annual Report.
Sixteen applications were received for Certificates of Disrepair
during the year 1959, bringing the total number of applications to 134
since the Act came into operation in June, 1957.
Factories Act, 1957
Three hundred and seventy-six visits of inspection were made to
factories in the area, and the following nuisances were remedied
following the service of Intimation Notices :—
Want of Cleanliness 3
Insufficient sanitary accommodation 1
Unsuitable or defective sanitary conveniences 15
Disinfection
The Council undertakes, free of charge, the disinfection of rooms,
articles of clothing and bedding after cases of Tuberculosis and
occasionally other Infectious Diseases. Requests for the steam
disinfection of bedding, etc., other than for notifiable illness, are met
but a charge is made for the service. During 1959, 33 applications
were received and accounts rendered for £34 12s.
During the year, 207 Library books were collected from homes
and hospitals where infectious disease had occurred, disinfected and
returned to the Library of origin.
33