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Health Act. At present the practice is for the sanitary inspectors to write out the
requirements of the notices on the counterfoils in the notice books which are handed
to the clerk to be copied. These copies signed by the inspectors are served, the
counterfoils being retained in the books as the office records. If a carbon copying
system, which is already for some purposes in use in the department, be substituted,
the counterfoils and the notices for service could be written by the sanitary inspectors
themselves. This would save a large part of the clerical work in connection with
something like 3,000 notices during the course of the year without materially
adding to the work of the sanitary inspectors. Such a change would perhaps,
probably increase the cost of the notice books to some extent, and some of the notices
would perhaps not bear the stamp of clerkly hands, but it does not seem to me that
there need be any serious objection to it.
The clerical work in connection with health visiting in the Borough is done
by the health visitor herself as already pointed out. A good deal of the correspondence
is of a confidential character, and as such must necessarily be conducted by
the health visitor. There is, however, some in which clerical assistance would be
helpful, and would moreover allow of more time for visiting. It is, however, impossible
to give this with the existing staff.
5.—SUMMARY.
Briefly, it may be stated that since the last increase in the number of sanitary
inspectors, some 16 years ago, the dirties of the sanitary authority have been very
greatly added to.
A comparison of the mortality statistics of Shoreditch and London as a whole,
shows that whilst there have been definite improvements for both, the improvement
in the case of the Metropolis is markedly greater than Shoreditch.
The general death-rate, the death-rates from the principal zymotic diseases and
from consumption, and the infantile mortality are all considerably higher in Shoreditch
than for the Metropolis.
Taking the number of inhabitants as a basis, the number of sanitary inspectors
employed in Shoreditch is markedly below the averages for London and for the
Boroughs adjacent to Shoreditch.
Health visiting is a work of great importance in a Borough like Shoreditch. The
amount required, is, however, far greater than one health visitor can possibly accomplish.
Consequent upon the increases in the duties devolving upon the department,
more especially during the past two years, the work of the clerical staff has grown
to such an extent that there is practically no margin for further work. Any additional
work of a permanent character will render more clerical assistance absolutely
necessary