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41
A Mortuary has been provided in connection with the Coroner's
Court near Whitecross Street. It contains one mortuary chamber and
a post-mortem room. There is no separate mortuary chamber for the
bodies of persons dying of infectious complaints.
The Sanitary Authority for the district is the Vestry of St. Luke.
For the purpose of carrying out the duties relating to the sanitary
condition of the district the Vestry has appointed the following
officers—a medical officer of health, two sanitary inspectors, and a
clerk for the sanitary department.
The Medical Officer of Health is not allowed to engage in the practice
of his profession. He controls and supervises the work of the Public
Health Department, and attends daily during certain hours in the
morning and afternoon at the offices of the Vestry in the City Road.
Each Inspector has a part of the district allotted to him, and in this
part he carries out all duties arising under the Public Health (London)
Act, 1891, and under the Food and Drugs Act. As regards, however,
the sections of the former Act relating to the seizure of food unfit for
human consumption, the existence of a public street market in Whitecross
Street throws additional duties in this respect on the Sanitary
Authority, and in order that inspection of the market may be made
twice in each day the duty is equally borne by the two Inspectors. In
addition to these Acts the Vestry is an inspecting authority under the
Canal Boats Act, and one of the Inspectors has been appointed under
the Act for the purpose of visiting boats in the City Road basin, and
is expected to visit a certain number during each month, though up
to the present time it has not been possible to inspect this number of
boats in the period owing to the Inspector's time being engaged in
other duties. The register of these inspections is kept by the Sanitary
Inspector. Office accommodation for the Inspectors is provided at the
Vestry Hall, and they attend there daily in the morning in order to
keep appointments and to give information to builders, complainants,
and others, and in the latter part of the afternoon to consult the
Medical Officer and to fill up their diaries, in which are recorded the
result of inspections made during the day time. These diaries are
supervised by the Medical Officer of Health, and are presented at each
meeting of the Committee.
The Clerk is occupied entirely with duties arising out of the work of
the Department. He keeps the complaint and report book, and
prepares the intimation and statutory notices from notes supplied by
the Inspectors. He also fills up the certificates forwarded to the
School Board and to the Metropolitan Asylums Board relating to
cases of infectious diseases notified to the Medical Officer of Health,
and carries out any other clerical duties of the Department.
In addition to the above-mentioned officers there is a General
Assistant, who is engaged to assist the Sanitary Inspectors in draintesting
and in the collection of samples; to fumigate rooms after the