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may drift into corners where they may escape notice for long enough for putrefaction to
commence and fly breeding to take place, while the dropping of skins of fruit and other
slippery objects may, and very often does, become a source of danger to disabled or elderly
persons and may result in loss of life or increased disablement. It was decided that a
public appeal should be made by the Mayor and Chairman of the Public Health Committee,
letters were inserted in the Press and in the Civic News Sheets and an individual letter
was sent to every class in each of the schools in the Borough exhorting the children to help
in the maintenance of cleanliness in the streets. This campaign is one which will require
to be kept continuously to the forefront as a temporary improvement was observed following
the mass appeal, but this could not be said to have really been maintained for a lengthy
period. National publicity on the same theme was instituted shortly after the commencement
of the Southall campaign and this, no doubt, assisted to remind the public of Southall
of the appeal which had been made to them previously.
Care of the feet. As the health of the feet plays a major part in the well-being of
the individual, and as information concerning the foot defects in adult life is difficult to
obtain, a request was made to the local chiropodists to co-operate in an investigation into
the causes of foot defect as found by them. Several chiropodists very kindly supplied
figures concerning the persons coming to them for the first time during 1953, the figures
are not in a sufficiently uniform pattern for a real statistical analysis to be made, but a rough
deduction which can be made from them is that out of 298 new patients attending
chiropodists in Southall, approximately 33% were suffering from hallux valgus, 53% corns
and callouses, and 87% from infections of the feet, including plantar warts, athletes foot,
etc. The remaining 5.3% consisted of hammer toes, soft corns, dropped metatarsal arches,
metatarsalgia, and ankle strains. These complaints are mostly of a preventable nature,
the corns and callouses having been caused by faulty footwear, the hallux valgus, though to
a certain extent possibly a congenital condition, being aggravated by faulty footwear, and
infections of the feet, such as athletes foot, being caused by insufficient care in the hygiene
of the feet. There is here a fruitful field for health propaganda not only amongst the
general public, but amongst the shoe manufacturers, and shoe fitters in particular. A
great responsibility lies on those who have the task of fitting the feet of small children,
as untold damage may be done by the provision of shoes which are too tight, too narrow,
too short, or which have been made in such a flimsy manner that nails or sewing of the
material can cause corns or pressure.
ESTABLISHMENTS FOR MASSAGE AND SPECIAL TREATMENT
Ten establishments were inspected for licence under this heading and all were found
satisfactory for the purpose which was intended.
Details are as follows:—
Purpose No. of Licences
Chiropody only 5
Massage, Chiropody and Electrical Treatment 5
MEDICAL EXAMINATION OF BOROUGH COUNCIL EMPLOYEES
During 1953, a total of 83 medical examinations were carried out on members of the
Borough Council staff. These examinations were carried out with regard to suitability for
employment on the Council's permanent staff, for entry into the Sickness Pay Scheme,
and Temporary Superannuation Scheme, or Sickness Pay Scheme Regulations.
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