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5
The problem of the eradication and prevention of the Bed-bug
occupied my attention during the later part of the year, and as a preliminary
step Miss Whitty was appointed a Sanitary Inspector, her chief
duties being to keep the Council's flats under regular supervision and to
inculcate a spirit of "bug-mindedness" in the tenants. At the time of
writing consideration is being given to my report upon a comprehensive
scheme including the disinfestation of the furniture of all tenants entering
Council's property.
In order to relieve Miss Whitty of her Infant Life Protection duties,
each Health Visitor was appointed to act as Infant Protection Visitor in
her own district. Owing to the poor arrangements for the care of fosterchildren
in the Borough, it was thought advisable to work out an ideal
scheme in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and the London
County Council and to retain Miss Whitty's services in the meantime.
To arrange an ideal service of foster-parents in a locality most unsuitable
for the purpose is a very difficult problem and so far the ideal has not
been achieved.
In conjunction with the Medical Superintendents of the three London
County Council General Hospitals I arranged a system of co-operation
between the Public Assistance Committee and the Tuberculosis Dispensaries
in respect of Tuberculous persons who are in receipt of public
assistance. By a system of simple forms there is now intimate liaison between
the District Medical Officers on the one hand and the Tuberculosis Officers
on the other; the District Medical Officers can now quickly obtain the
expert opinion of tha Tuberculosis Officers upon the fitness for work of,
and the appropriate treatment for, the patients under their care ; the
Tuberculosis Officers can now refer to the District Medical Officers all
those patients who in their opinion require extra nourishment through
the Public Assistance Committee and in this way there is a minimum
amount of delay in the receipt by those patients of such nourishment.
Dental treatment for expectant and nursing mothers and for patients
suffering from tuberculosis is now a service provided directly by the
Council instead of being, as hitherto, a service provided as a result of a
contract with the British Dental Hospital.
During the year Mr. F. F. Sharles, F.S.A.A., who was appointed by the
Council to investigate the financial and other detailed arrangements of
administration in the different departments, made his investigations into
those arrangements in the Public Health Department. I welcomed this