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
Whitechapel 1898
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Whitechapel]
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T ABLE P.— SANITARY AND OTHER WORK PERFORMED BY THE INSPECTORS.— 1898.
| CLASSIFICATION OF WORK. | Quarter ended Mar 26th, 1898. | Quarter ended June 25th, 1898. | Quarter ended Sept.24th, 1898. | Quarter ended Dec. 31st, 1898. | Totals for the year. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Inspections of Houses as shown in the Official Returns | 4586 | 5851 | 6552 | 5541 | 22530 |
| Preliminary notices served | 436 | 604 | 463 | 586 | 2089 |
| Compulsory orders issued | 133 | 146 | 129 | 178 | 586 |
| Summonses taken out under Public Health (London) Act | 9 | 7 | 2 | — | 18 |
| „ „ Adulteration of Food and Drugs Act | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Cellars used as dwellings caused to be discontinued to be so used | 2 | 8 | - | - | 10 |
| Cases of overcrowding and indecent occupation abated | 8 | 14 | 10 | 22 | 54 |
| Housing in which walls and ceilings have been cleansed or repaired | 272 | 284 | 221 | 234 | 1011 |
| Roofs of houses repaired | 26 | 36 | 18 | 34 | 114 |
| Ventilation of houses improved | 14 | 43 | 34 | 75 | 166 |
| Houses in which floorings of rooms, staircases, risers or treads, window-sashes and frames, baluster rails, or fire stoves have been repaired | 30 | 31 | 32 | 18 | 111 |
| Damp courses to houses inserted | 5 | 11 | 8 | 1 | 25 |
| Passage and staircases of houses provided with light | 3 | — | — | — | 3 |
| Eave-gutters or stack-pipes provided or repaired | 22 | 46 | 39 | 31 | 138 |
| Nuisances from smoke abated | — | 6 | 5 | 4 | 15 |
| Rooms disinfected with sulphurous acid gas after the occurrence of cases of infectious diseases, &c. | 185 | 146 | 232 | 206 | 769 |
| Articles, consisting of beds, bedding, clothing, &c., removed and disinfected | 362 | 2498 | 4744 | 6004 | 13608 |
| Crates of clothing from Whitechapel Infirmary disinfected | 503 | 621 | - | - | 1124 |
| Articles burnt by consent | 3 | — | 51 | — | 54 |
| Hackney carriages disinfected | — | — | - | 1 | 1 |
| Courts and yards of houses paved, or paving repaired | 62 | 79 | 83 | 98 | 322 |
| Drainage of houses altered, improved or reconstructed | 82 | 85 | 64 | 64 | 295 |
| Traps to drains in houses, yards or courts improved | 208 | 134 | 143 | 200 | 685 |
| Closet pans and traps re-set | 53 | 45 | 87 | 76 | 261 |
| Closets provided with light and ventilation | 8 | 97 | 10 | 15 | 130 |
| Closets provided with a water supply and Hushing apparatus, or defective water fittings repaired | 67 | 86 | 70 | 143 | 366 |
| Closets cleansed or repaired | 172 | 251 | 181 | 241 | 845 |
| Additional water closets provided | 4 | 11 | - | 49 | 64 |
| Walls of yards or courts li me washed | 25 | 109 | 21 | 27 | 282 |
| Water supply to houses provided or improved | 30 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 83 |
| Nuisances from dung or other offensive matter removed | 52 | 54 | 49 | 62 | 217 |
| Houses closed by Magistrate's order, or by consent, as unfit for human habitation | 5 | 2 | 34 | - | 41 |
| Dust-bins provided or repaired, or removed, and galvanized iron dust-pails substituted | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 9 |
| Samples under Sale of Food and Drugs Act submitted to the public analyst | 30 | 30 | - | 33 | 93 |
| Dead bodies removed to mortuary | 6 | — | — | — | 6 |
| Bakehouses cleansed | 22 | 1 | - | 30 | 53 |
| Workshops cleansed | 13 | 6 | 32 | 15 | 66 |
| Ventilation of workshops improved | 12 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 24 |
| Overcrowding in workshops abated | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 8 |
| Additional closet accommodation to workshops provided | 31 | 13 | 9 | 9 | 62 |
| Workshops closed | 11 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 35 |
| Receptacles for dung provided and reconstructed | - | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Nuisance from frying fish abated | - | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| Sinks unstopped and cleansed | 16 | - | - | - | 16 |
| Urinals cleansed | - | 4 | — | — | 4 |
In addition to the above the Inspectors have had destroyed, as unfit for human food, during the year the following articles,
viz.: —6 cases of Oranges; 42 bags of Potatoes; 5 tons of Carrots; 39 bags of Cocoa Nuts; 11 bushels and 3 barrels of Apples;
7 boxes and 3 barrels of Pears; 7 bags of Onions; 12 packages of Cabbages; 7 packages of Cauliflower; 5 baskets of
Cherries; 42 baskets of Plums; 66 Melons; 2 boxes of Grapes; 1 case of Tomatoes; 27 cases of Cucumbers; 3 barrels of
Salmon; 18 Gurnets; 22 baskets of Fresh Water Fish; 3 boxes of Zander Fish; 10 Cod Fish; 7 Sea Bream; 2 baskets of
Hake; 1 box of Eels 1 trunk of Mixed Fish 12 boxes of Smelts; 2 boxes of Haddocks; 1968 tins of Condensed Milk, and
1104 Turkeys.