London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Harrow 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Harrow]
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was maintained over the years although it was engaged mostly in dealing
with articles from the County Council's residential nursery and other
County Council premises. It was, however, being maintained at too
high a cost so in 1953 the Council decided to close it. While the laundry
was being used, steam was raised every day so that it was possible to
treat any articles in the disinfecting plant without any delay. On the
laundry's closing though, it was necessary to raise steam solely for the
disinfecting plant which meant that each treatment was that much more
costly. It was estimated that the cost reached 37s. for the first load and
15s. for each subsequent load.
At their March meeting, the Public Health Committee decided on the following revised charges for disinfection:
| (1) Articles from households where there has been a case of infection and where disinfection should be carried | Free of cost. |
| UUl. Fumigation of rooms | Free of cost. |
| (2) Articles from households where disinfection is not considered necessary by the Public Health Department, but where the householder wishes this to be done. Fumigation of rooms | 20s. for the first load. 10s. for each subsequent load. 10s. 6d. per room. |
| (3) Articles from the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital: where disinfection is necessary to limit the spread of infection. | Free of cost. |
| Articles other than those referred to in the previous paragraph. (a) subject to the understanding that the same shall be delivered to and collected from the disinfecting plant, and with no assurance as to immediate treatment. (b) for immediate treatment and subject to the understanding that the same shall be delivered to, and collected from, the disinfecting plant. | 7s. 6d. per load. 37s. for the first load 15s. for each subsequent load. |
| (4) Stoving of articles for despatch to certain other countries. | 2s. 6d. per parcel. |
The last item relates to a practice which has grown since the war ol
persons sending parcels of clothing to their relatives or friends m
countries on the continent which require a certificate that the articles
have been disinfected. The contents of these small parcels are treated ,
when other articles are being passed through the disinfector.
In spite of the fact that organisms planted in books have been
recovered some weeks later, it is very questionable whether infection has
been spread by means of books. Nevertheless it is felt desirable to
reduce the risk of conveyance of infection by a book which has been
recently used by a person suffering from an infectious condition broug
about by an organism which can readily survive away from the human
host. It is the practice then to collect for fumigation in the bacte^
container those books from households in which there are persons w
have been notified as suffering from such diseases as scarlet teve'
diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox and typhoid fever. The books a
collected and receipts given which the borrowers hand in at the librar'
from which the books have been taken out. Books borrowed from a