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59
WORK OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTORS
George Grieve, F.R.S.H., F.A.P.H.I.
Chief Public Health Inspector
During the year new legislation in connection with the house let
off to more than one family became operative. Standards were formulated
and approved by the Council and already, following inspection,
improvements are in hand in many of these houses. As the completion
of the so called "slum" clearance programme is in sight, more time
of the inspectorate will be given to these houses in multiple occupation,
some of which can quickly, through lack of facilities and
default in management become much worse slums than any of the houses
included in the clearance programme. Unfortunately the staffing situation,
so far as the Inspectorate is concerned, has deteriorated
and unless the vacancies can be filled, enforcement of the new provisions
mentioned above will be slowed down.
Annually new legislation, in one form or another, which it is the
duty of the Inspectorate to enforce, reaches the Statute Book, and
with the limited qualified staff available it has, over recent years
been a problem to so organise the staff to give the more important
public health functions the attention which is their due. We now
have five trainees in the Department, but some years must elapse before
any benefit accrues from such recruitment-in the meantime a
policy of priorities must be adopted.
Meat inspection at the Public Abattoir is one of these, and even
with increasing throughput a 100% inspection has been maintained,
necessitating the Inspectorate being on duty in the evening and at
weekends. The new Abattoir is still at the drawing board stage but
it is hoped some positive progress will be made early in 1963 in negotiations
with the prospective users, to enable a date of building
to be decided upon.
Owners of property and residents have co-operated well in complying
with the Clean Air Act and this has enabled the Council to declare
its intention to make the whole of the present Borough smoke
controlled by 1971.
The Commercial re-development of the Centre of the Borough adds
to the duties of the Inspectorate and will so continue with the
Passing of the Offices, Shops and Railway premises Act in 1963legislation,
long overdue, to improve the working conditions of those
employed in such premises. There should be no difficulty in rehousing
from slum" offices etc. in Croydon in the years ahead, except perhaps
the "old bogey" of rents.
This is my nineteenth annual report and my last as I retire early
in 1963, I was appointed at the time the town was being haphazardly
destroyed from the air, and retire as it is being systematically and
purposefully destroyed by the planners to mane way for a newer and
progressive Croydon, and vacate office happy in the thought that I,
along with my staff, have had a part to play in such exciting times.