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In order to enable practitioners to receive reports upon specimens without delay
a box has been placed on the front steps of the Town Hall into which specimens may
be put between 12 noon and 7 p.m. At 7 p.m. the specimens are then taken by
messenger to the laboratory. Under this arrangement the report upon a throat
swab taken by a doctor at his evening surgery is telephoned to him the following
morning.
During the year some 1,143 examinations were made, which included the
following:—For suspected diphtheria 819, for suspected tuberculosis 209, in
connection with the diagnosis of venereal disease 78.
DISINFECTION.
The premises disinfected numbered 1,246. The articles removed to the Borough
Council's Disinfecting Station, totalled 14,063, and included 1,135 beds, 911
mattresses, 2,326 pillows, 622 bolsters and some 9,069 other articles such as sheets,
blankets, quilts, curtains, carpets, clothing and the like. It was necessary to
destroy two pairs of mattresses, one spring mattress and one bed, which were so
dilapidated and contaminated as to render it inadvisable to return them. These
were replaced with new.
The larger of the steam disinfectors which had been in use for over 40 years was
found to be no longer efficient and was reported to be beyond repair. A new
steam disinfector by Messrs. Manlove, Alliott & Co. was accordingly installed, and
at the same time the connections with the two boilers were altered so that each can
now be used with either of the two disinfectors, Thanks are due to Mr. Smith, the
Baths Superintendent, for his advice and assistance in connection with this work.
THE SHELTER.
The accommodation provided under Section 60 (4) of the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, was in use on three occasions during the year under consideration.
In the first instance a family was allowed to occupy the shelter while the rooms
at their house were cleansed in accordance with the requirements of the Health
Committee, and on two occasions the shelter was used to accommodate smallpox
contacts whilst disinfection of their clothing was being carried out.
PUBLIC MORTUARY.
The bodies of 150 persons were deposited in the mortuary and inquests were held
in 125 instances. In connection with these inquests 75 post mortem examinations
were held at the mortuary.
WATER SUPPLY.
The Meteorological Table for London deduced from observations at Greenwich
under the superintendence of the Astronomer Royal issued by the Registrar-General
for 1928 shows a rainfall for the year of 643 millimeters. This figure is 47 millimeters
above the average for the thirty-five years, 1881-1915.
TUBERCULOSIS.
All forms of tuberculosis are notifiable. Notifications arc made on one of four
forms, A, B, C and D.
A—Notification by Doctor who makes diagnosis.
B—Notification by School Medical Inspector.
C—Notification of the admission of a case of tuberculosis to an institution.
D— Notification of the discharge of a case of tuberculosis from an institution.
By primary notifications are meant notifications of patients who have not
previously been notified either in this or previous years in Shoreditch either on
Form A or B.
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