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44
2. District Nursing.— The Council has had under consideration
during the past year the great deficiency which existed in the
provision of home nursing in Ilford. This became acute during
the Influenza epidemic, but is sufficiently marked in ordinary
times. Efforts were first made to obtain the assistance of the
Essex County Nursing Association to form a branch in Ilford.
These, however, failed owing to the demand which existed for
Nurses in the rural districts in Essex. A conference was therefore
held in the Town Hall in October, 1920, to consider the
whole question. A provisional committee was set up, and after
various enquiries approached the Governors of the EmergencyHospital,
who have powers to institute a home-nursing service
under their articles of association. The Governors received the
suggestion with enthusiasm, and I hope in my next Annual Report
to be able to state that a satisfactory commencement has been
made with a staff of Nurses.
SECTION VI.— HOUSING.
There is still a considerable pressure on the housing accommodation
in the district.
In a report presented to the Housing Committee in September,
1919, the Medical Officer of Health and Surveyor estimated
that the Council should provide at least 600 houses to meet
local demands. The scarcity of houses has resulted in many
houses in the district accommodating at the present time two or
three families each, in which in pre-war days only one family
was to be found. A few families who had been evicted from
their dwellings and had no other house to enter, have been admitted
to the Valentines Mansion during the year. The general
standard of housing in the district is good and the defects found
are chiefly due to lack of repairs being carried out during the war
period. A large proportion of the houses have been built in
modern times. There are only 10 back-to-back houses.