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
Carshalton 1959
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Carshalton]
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(b) Number of new cases reported during the year 12
(c) (1) Number of cases of overcrowding relieved during the year 18
(2) Number of persons concerned in such cases 123
(d) Particulars of any cases in which dwelling houses have again
become overcrowded after the local authority have
taken steps for the abatement of overcrowding
Overcrowding
During the year 12 cases of overcrowding were found and 18 cases were
remedied leaving 27 dwellings with 176½ equivalent adults in occupation
still overcrowded at the year end.
The known position in respect of statutory overcrowding at the beginning and end of the year was as follows:—
| Ward | Dwellings overcrowded at 31/12/58 | Dwellings found overcrowded during 1959 | Dwellings de-crowded during 1959 | Dwellings remaining overcrowded at 31/12/59 | Overcrowded cases remedied during 1959 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formal Action | Informal Action | Total | |||||
| St. Helier North | 13 | 4 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| St. Helier South | 6 | 2 | 2 | 6 | - | 2 | 2 |
| St. Helier West | 3 | 1 | - | 4 | - | - | - |
| North-East | 5 | 2 | 1 | 6 | - | 1 | 1 |
| North-West | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 3 | - | 3 |
| Central | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | - | 1 |
| South-West | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| South-East | 1 | 1 | - | 2 | - | - | - |
| Total | 33 | 12 | 18 | 27 | 9 | 9 | 18 |
It is necessary to point out that, as in past years, these figures are based
on the information which comes to the notice of the department during the
course of daily activities. They cannot, nor do they purport to, represent the
exact position in respect of overcrowding. Only a complete and comprehensive
survey could give that at any particular time. Since however they
are obtained year by year in the same manner, they have some value in
indicating the trend of overcrowding.
Figures obtained in this way over the last 10 years were as follows:—
| Year | New Cases | Cases at Year End | Year | New Cases | Cases at Year End |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 75 | 209 | 1955 | 26 | 73 |
| 1951 | 54 | 217 | 1956 | 27 | 63 |
| 1952 | 79 | 123 | 1957 | 10 | 46 |
| 1953 | 53 | 112 | 1958 | 14 | 33 |
| 1954 | 49 | 105 | 1959 | 12 | 27 |
As has been the experience for many years, all the new instances of
overcrowding were the result of relatives sharing accommodation.
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