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steps towards the erection of two clinics in the district have been
taken, and a site has been purchased on which will be erected
the main clinic central to the district. In view of the urgent need
for added maternity accommodation the Council is seeking authority
to provide, with the Wembley Urban District Council, a joint
maternity institution.
Although the scheme submitted by the County Council as a
result of the survey of Isolation Hospital accommodation as
required by the Local Government Act, 1929, excluded Harrow
from possessing its own Isolation Hospital, sanction was obtained
during the year to proceed with the erection of a new hospital for
the reception of cases of infectious disease. In the meantime,
improvements have been carried out at the two existing hospitals
to enable more efficient services to be provided pending the erection
of the new hospital. In the early part of the year the Council
sanctioned a scheme for diphtheria immunization of which quite
fair advantage was taken. In connection with infection, one of
the major steps taken was the abolition of fumigation as a routine
after infectious diseases, this being now carried out only at the
request and cost of the householder.
The Sanitary Inspectors have had a very active year in
connection with the improvement of the condition of houses. The
previous proposals submitted in regard to slum clearance by the
former three councils were modified, representations for clearance
being made with regard to three groups of properties. In addition
to these, a number of houses have been scheduled for action under
Section 19 of the 1930 Housing Act. In connection with these,
the Council decided that the occupiers of properties which are
being demolished under Section 19 rather than under Section 1
shall, if their circumstances warrant, be entitled to the same
benefits as if the properties had been dealt with by the procedure
followed in clearance areas. Complaints have been received
regarding nuisances and flooding arising by reason of the overloading
of the sewage disposal works, a state of affairs partly due
to the late date at which the connections were made under the
West Middlesex Sewage Scheme. Complaints of rats have been
very common from all parts of the district. To judge by the
complaints of the local residents, the service provided by the
Middlesex County Council as the authority administering the
Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act, appears most meagre. Application
was made to the County Council for transfer of the powers
and duties under this Act to the District Council, but was met by
a refusal. There are some services which are more efficiently
administered by large authorities, particularly those requiring
institutions. There are others, however, where local knowledge
outweighs other advantages, and of these the powers under the
Rats and Mice (Destruction) Act is one. Another is the supervision
of midwives, a service for which the Council had previously