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Fever, Diphtheria, and Enteric Fever, the rooms occupied by the
patient, the bedding-, etc., are disinfected, without unavoidable delay,
by the Sanitary Inspector, after removal, at the patient's house, except
in cases which have been treated at home; in the latter case, the
bedding-, clothing, and everything requiring disinfection, otherwise than
can be washed in disinfectants, are removed in the special van of the
Hospital to the steam disinfector and, after disinfection, returned to
the owner. The adoption of this practice is deemed to be sufficiently
effective, it being very rare for a second case to occur in the same house
subsequently to this action.
II.—An account of the sanitary condition of the district at the end of
1913.
In complying with this section of the Local Government Board's
instructions to Medical Officers of Health, I proceed to give a short
account of the sanitary state of the district under the same heads of
localities as are given in the statistical tables.
Dagenham, Beacontree and Chadwell Heaths.—Villages and
scattered groups of houses, all situate in the parish of Dagenham
and occupying a very wide area, standing on gravel and
London clay, some (part of Dagenham village and immediate
neighbourhood) on alluvium. Mainly agricultural, some (Dagenham
village and adjacent locality) employed in a large telephone factory,
in enginering works and on river-side labour. Water supply
mainly from South Essex Water Co. A few private wells. The sanitary
condition of the village of Dagenham has been, the last few years,
much more satisfactory than it was previous to the establishment of the
very extensive system of sewerage for the main portion of this wide
parish. Houses (working-class) have been, when found to fee insanitary,
put into decent habitable condition. There is, decidedly, a want here of
house accommodation for the working class, and this want, although
it is now being met by the laying out of a building estate for
this class of house, near the Railway Station, the class of
house being erected is hardly suitable for the labouring classes.
This is being done by a private company on Cambey farm,
and it is proposed to erect about 250 cottages here. So far about
12 have been built or are in process of being built. A systematic inspection
of cottages under the provision of the " Housing and Town Planning
Act " is carried out fey the Sanitary Inspector, who reports to me failures
in sanitary condition, and to the Council, and the necessary improvements
have hitherto been effected by the owner, sometimes with much