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
Merton and Morden 1963
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Merton & Morden]
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SECTION E.
REPORT OF THE CHIEF PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTOR
In reviewing the work of the Public Health Inspectorate during
1963, I must record that although most items of environmental hygiene
were adequately covered, certain aspects such as food sampling, housing
and chimney observations were again unavoidably restricted to a
minimum as a staff vacancy again occurred when the pupil who qualified
in June 1962 and was appointed to an existing vacancy, resigned in the
Spring to take up another appointment. Mr. Klemp, appointed as a Pupil
in September 1962, made excellent progress during the year and Mr.
R. Clark was appointed in September 1963 as a second pupil.
The following table compares the inspections made during the year under review with those made in 1962. The total at 6,411 is some 290 less, and although regrettable, can be regarded as reasonable coverage of all the various aspects of the sanitary condition of the district.
| 1963 | 1962 | |
|---|---|---|
| Food shops, etc | 960 | 1,171 |
| Housing - primary visits | 182 | 134 |
| -re-inspections | 48 | 39 |
| -overcrowding provisions | 67 | 14 |
| -miscellaneous | 95 | 84 |
| Drainage - repairs and blockages | 922 | 833 |
| Rodent control | 262 | 311 |
| Shops - welfare provisions | 406 | 365 |
| Infectious disease enquiries | 71 | 13 |
| Factories, Workplaces and outworkers | 484 | 487 |
| Milk supply | 149 | 142 |
| Smoke abatement | 806 | 1,128 |
| River and Stream pollution | 48 | 43 |
| Stables and piggeries | 8 | 10 |
| Miscellaneous (Caravans, Hairdressers, Schools, Building sites, etc.) | 1,903 | 1,927 |
| 6,411 | 6,701 |
Periodic inspections are required at the following premises as counted at the end of the year :-
| Wholesale food manufacturers | 2 |
| Bakehouses | 3 |
| Food shops and catering establishments | 434 |
| Public houses | 16 |
| Other shops | 231 |
| Factories (power) | 171 |
| Factories (non-power) | 7 |
| Offices, workplaces etc | 272 |
The frequency of change of occupation in the shops and smaller
businesses was again quite high, being about one in every seven. It is
obviously desirable that a fairly frequent inspection of such premises
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